26 Apr 2024
Matt Joe Gow - Single Review: 'Til My Whole Heart Bursts
07 Jul 2022 // A review by Kev Rowland
I first came across Matt when I was asked
if I could write a release for his tour, and I was fortunate enough to catch
him in Auckland playing solo in the middle of last year. It was a great night,
and since then I have investigated all three of his albums and am looking
forward now to his NZ tour and his fourth. This song is the most recent single
from that album and features him with a full band as he looks to build on the success
of Break Rattle and Roll which was awarded the 2018 Music Victoria Award
for Best Country/Americana Album Of The Year. This song is built on Matt’s vocals
and his acoustic guitar, and I can imagine it being performed in that manner,
but here the arrangement features electric guitar, steel, drums, and bass to
really build on the sound.
This is modern alt-country, more upbeat and in your face than the traditional style, with a beat and swing which really encourages the body to move and the face to smile. The electric guitar has a wonderfully rich colour to it with plenty of soul, bringing a real breadth into the music which is only accentuated when it is playing in conjunction with the steel. One can easily imagine this becoming a singalong at concerts as the chorus is repeated multiple times towards the end as Matt keeps singing and allows the guitars to blend together and build the atmosphere. This is a song which encourages participation from the first, as it cries out to be clapped along to, and there is a brightness in the music which is a delight for all country fans.
Rating:
( 4 / 5 )
About Matt Joe Gow
As alternative country and Americana continued to grow in popularity, Matt steadily toured and supported acts such as Chris Isaak, The Jayhawks, Justin Townes Earle, James Reyne, Kasey Chambers, Marlon Williams, Jimmy Barnes, Mark Seymour and John Butler.
Whilst regularly making demos and working on other projects in the studio, it would be 2016 before the next Matt Joe Gow record, Seven Years, was released to critical acclaim. The record was self-produced by Matt and guitarist Andrew Pollock. After touring and playing numerous festivals in support of the record, and encouraged by its positive reception, Matt returned to the studio in 2018 to make the follow-up, Break, Rattle and Roll. An ambitious record with keys, horns, pedal steel and backing vocalists supplementing the core band, it was again released to wide acclaim and accolades including the Music Victoria Award for Best Country/Americana Album Of The Year. In addition to full band shows, Matt undertook a solo tour with Grant-Lee Phillips, with Phillips posting that [Break, Rattle and Roll's] "Bridge Over Concrete is on constant rotation in my head!".
Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Matt Joe Gow
Releases
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