IN REVIEW: Matthew Good - "Chaotic Neutral"

By now, any lingering sadness that resulted in the dissolution of Matthew Good Band should have subsided for most; their last album, The Audio of Being, came out nearly fifteen years ago and was almost immediately expressed dissatisfaction with the record (for what it's worth, I still think its tension and nervous energy make it his best full band record). The thing is, where most artists embarking on a solo career in the wake of a successful band run would flame out or slowly fade, Matthew Good has quietly built a solo career that's vibrant and important within the spectrum of Canadian artists. For as much as those four MGB records accomplished in terms of popularity, the seven solo records that have surfaced since have established Good as so much more than the snarling, difficult voice of an admittedly great alt-rock band.

That said, I haven't always latched onto Good's solo records the way I did The Audio of Being, but that's on me; fortunately, I've had the benefit of going back through Good's catalogue and appreciating some of the finer points of his craft as I've grown older. How, for instance, could I have let an amazing song like While We Were Hunting Rabbits pass me by without so much as a second glance in 2003? Put simply, I was sore about the band's breakup. That cloud lifted around the time his third record, 2007's stunning and heartbreaking Hospital Music (the events leading up to the release of which you should really read up on) came around.

Not everything has stuck with me in the same way, but I acknowledge Good's commitment to the art form, even when that means an MGB-indebted nostalgia trip like 2013's Arrows of Desire. That record brought Good back for a lot of folks, following up his quietest record to date and the end of his longstanding record deal with Universal. It wasn't something that was meant to point to his future, but the way it distilled past glories into such a concise and lively record really hit the spot for old school fans like me.

It's only natural that Chaotic Neutral finds Good in more familiar territory; in a way, he's always spoken louder by using subtlety rather than bombast, and this time out he's substituting brute force for a smarter, more calculated attack. It's there in lead track/first single All You Sons and Daughters, an unassuming mid-tempo rocker that props itself up on a simple but effective guitar and a chorus that doesn't sink itself deep until you've heard it a dozen times, at which point the song's done its job. Throughout, there isn't much that screams for attention, but plenty that slowly assimilates; the pleading for change in Moment, the classic Good balladry of Kid Down the Well, the sinister, vulnerable Harridan, the subtly abrasive Girls in Black, all gems that only reveal their true value on repeated listens.

We should also talk about Cloudbusting, the stellar Kate Bush cover with accompaniment by Holly McNarland; their rendition does the original justice while still managing to unmistakably sound like a Matthew Good song. So as to say, it does exactly what a cover song should do, but fails to for so many. Good and McNarland get this song so, so right.

The few dead spots on the record are more forgivable than previous albums because he's taken the conciseness of Arrows of Desire and applied it to Chaotic Neutral; if a song isn't clicking with you, you won't have to wait eight minutes for the next one, as nothing on here cracks the six minute mark. It's a fully realized record with some fantastic songs that never overstay their welcome.

An assured, mature record that begs to be explored, Chaotic Neutral is a record that may demand more from its listeners than your average rock record, but rewards the extra work handsomely.

September 25, 2015 • Warner Music Canada
Highlights All You Sons and Daughters • Kid Down the Well • Girls in Black