I could have written this review last night,
but I was enjoying the music so much I decided to prolong the experience for
one more day.
Disc 1300 is… Satis Factory
Artist:
Mattiel
Year of Release: 2019
What’s up with the
Cover?
This cover reminds me of a job I had one summer shoveling sawdust onto conveyor
belts. Given the album title, I assume this factory processes raw adequacy for
its legions of reasonably motivated consumers.
How I Came to Know
It: The way I often discover
modern music. First I read a review and was sufficiently intrigued to listen to
the single. Once I liked the single, I listened to the whole album. Halfway
through I knew I was hooked.
How It Stacks Up: While I’m on the lookout for 2017’s “LP” for
now “Satis Factory” is the only Mattiel record I have, so it can’t stack up.
Ratings: 5 stars
Leave ‘em wanting more. That’s what
singer-songwriter Mattiel Brown does on one of the best records of 2019. She
gives you 35 minutes of pure and perfect genre-bending rock and roll and then calls
it a day, leaving you no choice but to go back to Track 1 and do it all over
again. And that’s exactly what I did. Six times so far, and there’ll be more.
Like a lot of the best current crop of
musicians, Mattiel is blissfully unaware of any restrictions she is expected to
have on her sound. She mixes in soul, funk, eighties pop and hints of a thousand
other elements, creating a sound that is unique to her. Imagine the early
folksy groove of Michelle Shocked with later-career Clash. Maybe throw in some
Blondie or Eurythmics. Basically, if you listen too long, you’ll get confused
about just what you’re hearing but let me summarize – it’s Mattiel. And it’s
sheer genius.
The experience begins with her vocals, which
are deep, brassy with power to spare. This is a voice that fills a room with
the triumph of a trumpet and the power of a kettle drum. It isn’t just power,
either. Mattiel reminded me of a modern-day Annie Lennox, taking songs that could
be overwhelmed with their own anthemic majesty, and then singing them in a way
that lets you ride the wave back down the barrel to its vulnerable core.
It is a good thing Mattiel has that kind of
power, because the songs she writes are brash and bold anthems that demand a
full commitment from the first note. They get to the point in a hurry as well.
The album is 12 songs and only 35 minutes long, with over half the songs under
three minutes. Mattiel doesn’t go in for a lot of bridges or meandering
instrumentals. She hits a riff, develops it, drops a few insightful lyrics and wraps
it up. This music reminded me of the food in Italy: only 2 or 3 ingredients,
but perfectly portioned and prepared every time.
Unsurprisingly, with so many stylistic
elements, “Satis Factory” has incredible range. There is plenty of R&B
inspired rock, including “Moment of Death” and “Rescue You,” but
there are also elements of spoken word (“Food for Thought”), eighties
pop anthems (“Keep the Change”) and even country beats (“Blisters”).
“Heck Fire” has a pop-reggae groove that sounds like it could have been lifted
from Combat Rock but…nope. It is all original, it just sounds timeless. Even
the use of the archaic “heck” comes off sounding more modern than any casual
swear you’ll hear in modern music.
I had a hard time picking favourites (one of
the reasons the album earned 5 stars), but “Millionaire” was a winner.
It holds a mix of wistfulness and uncertain triumph that summed up the
emotional core of the album. Mattiel doesn’t sing about perfection, but she is
perfectly happy to celebrate a world with plenty of faults. Reflecting her own
path to self-fulfillment, she sings:
“Took a hundred years to get this
microphone
Now I wanna sell everything I own
Ever since I got myself this easy
chair
Might as well be a millionaire.”
The song literally made me appreciate sitting.
I know its not about that, but still.
“Long Division” ends the album with
less certainty, with a riposte of realism to the trite advice that so often
falls short in the face of misfortune:
“And we all were taught to plan
for the worst
As if we had a chance to rehearse
And we all were taught to give
respect
As if we could avoid a
disconnect.”
The production on “Satis Factory” is crisp and
separated. Drum and bass feature heavily but the album wisely doesn’t have them
thump and everything is kept even in the mix, letting the bones of the song –
and Mattiel’s voice – work their magic. Italian cooking, with sound.
Best tracks: All tracks. Sadly, there are only 12 but that’s OK,
you can replay it any time you like if you buy it. Now go buy it. Seriously. Go
give this woman some more money so she can make another record.
No comments:
Post a Comment