IN REVIEW: Matthew Good - "Something Like a Storm"

On his twelfth overall album (eighth as a solo artist), Matthew Good doesn't offer up too many surprises for longtime fans; we've come to expect a handful of energetic rockers, a few brooding ballads and some thoughtful mid-tempo fare. That's true on Something Like a Storm, but there's more urgency here as well, a sense of import that makes for a more immediate and impactful listen. Decades is a prime example, a driving new-wave tinged tune that stands with the best of his singles; it's punchy and nostalgic but also pensive and nocturnal, and it sets a high benchmark for the rest of the record.

If one big single was all this album had going for it, we might be having a talk about stagnation, but Good carries this energy over to other songs as well; There the First Time is propelled by an insistent beat and some shadowy keyboards, and it makes for an undeniably captivating song. Days Come Down, meanwhile, employs acoustic guitars as a backbone while the surrounding electricity brings the song to life, and its chorus is perhaps Good's most singable in years. Then, there's She's Got You Where She Wants You, which is brightened with tasteful use of piano and buoyed by a mid-tempo snapping rhythm.

Sometimes, though, Good is at his best when delivering shivers-inducing ballads, and this album's title track is one of his most sonically rich ever; a swelling string section accompanies the song's simplistic rhythm as a dark and dramatic theme builds underneath. Good's layered vocals add soul and tension before he steps back two thirds into the song and lets the music do the talking. The album closes with two more ballads, the vibrant This Is Night and the quiet and slow building Bullets in a Briefcase, a pair of songs that may have been highlights on previous records but are just two more good ones thrown onto the pile here.

To be sure, Something Like a Storm isn't flawless, and some may bemoan its accessibility or its streamlined approach (nine songs in 43 minutes, which is certainly album length, although Good has been known to stretch his albums out considerably before). In my opinion, conciseness works to this album's benefit, as more and/or longer songs could have risked the flow and digestibility of the album as a whole. As is, Something Like a Storm is one of Good's best, a mature and well-thought out collection of songs that's careful not to linger too long in the past, opting instead to take a snapshot of today and take stock of the distance traveled. When doing so, it's easy to simply churn out more of the same and watch the royalty cheques trickle in, but Something Like a Storm proves that Matthew Good still cares about the craft; in turn, he has become one of our country's most cared about artists.

October 20, 2017 • Warner Music Canada
Highlights Decades • Days Come Down • Something Like a Storm