reviews

Hailing from Ballarat in regional Victoria, a town notorious for bitterly cold winters and clinging to the past, Matheson have burst out of hibernation to release a cracking
debut album.

The 11 songs showcase the songwriting talents and world-class vocals of Aaron Matthews as he traverses through a musical landscape backed by his travelling companions and impeccable rhythm section, made up by Mark Perry on bass and Stevie G. Martin behind the drums.

Sometimes they travel at full-speed, as heard in opening track ‘Let the Satellites Fall” with its driving drums, weaving bass lines and Matthews’ vocals floating over the top. At other times they slow right down to soak up their environs. The perfect example of this is ‘Safe for Now’, one of the most eloquent and beautiful political statements you are likely to hear, with its questioning of our political leader’s continuing involvement in a war that is happening on the other side of the world. This underlying darkness is a consistent theme throughout the album – what superficially seems to be a slow-building ballad – peels open to reveal a crime of passion on ‘She was from the Country.’

‘These are my Horses’ is the sound of a confident band that knows how to hook in the listener with memorable choruses, sweet melodies and great storytelling. Matthews’ voice leaves you grasping for comparison. But it is the pure quality, and perhaps the disbelief that it could come forth from small-town Australia, that may warrant the questioning.

‘These are my Horses’ is available now through Dust Devil Music.

Matheson have been around Ballarat and a regular mainstay on its few but frequented stages for some years now; this album is tribute to a band hitting their straps both as songwriters and as a road-hardened band.

Style-wise, if the Kings of Leon could steal that big, mid-tempo rock-vocal sound from Noiseworks then it should be fair cop for Matheson to steal it back – they come close to getting away with it upon the opening tune Let the Satellites Fall.

Along with the power ballad Forever Girl these are some of the most rock radio-friendly tunes this band have come up with so far; what has evolved from a country and folk base now rocks out a bit louder and stronger.

Yet the folk and country roots of Matheson remain: 1859 goes back to history for inspiration in a tale of a sailor headed back to Australia, while Caroline Blues digs deeper into a Dylanesque folk groove with added (uncredited) harmonica.

Safe For Now gets across deeply felt and complex feelings about military involvement in overseas conflicts without getting bogged down in platitude or too-simple rhetoric, while She Was From the Country sounds like a road anthem with a crooked twist for university students from the country, destined to be played to crowds of students at uni campuses across regional Australia.

Frontman and guitarist Aaron Mathews is ably backed with harmonies from bassist Mark Perry and drummer Steven Martin, with some additional work by guitarist Dan Houlihan (Epicure), pianist Yuko Nusiyama and the album’s producer Cam McKenzie.

A big sounding debut with the promise of more to come from a very promising band.

It’s not exactly Frank Sinatra circa 1966. But the phrasing of “my heart is like a stranger in the night” in entrée Let The Satellites Fall is a salient signpost to romantic imagery by Ballarat band Matheson. That’s the same band that scored home state exposure as support for Louisiana swamp pop octet Lil Band O Gold on its debut Australian tour in March.

But the imagery is much darker in 1859 – a love story set in days of yore when city chaps invaded the bush, panning and digging for gold. The sailor in the song returns from across the ocean in response to a letter from a lover with marriage plans. Sounds like faded love as he reveals on his return “flowers of romance no longer bloom” – and “the town is not worth fighting for.”

And don’t be dissuaded simply because Matheson may be marketed as alt-country. There’s none of the barking dog distortions favoured by those total depression dirge practitioners in these 11 songs.

Singer Aaron Matthews drives an accessible vocal vehicle that speeds and slows to suit mood swings. That’s low gear for Lullabies and cruise control for the vitriolic parody of political puppeteers priming the fear pump in masters of war reprise Safe For Now. The band explore diverse shades of love – a fortune teller-fuelled fear in the jaunty Caroline Blues, where the character’s songs fall on deaf ears, and the same emotion at journey’s end in Forever Girl. And maybe this is too analytical, but the vixen – spawned by paternal butcher and maternal lawyer – in I Was Her Man, may be easily identified if she hails from Ballarat. Then again, perhaps not. It’s a large place, after all. But the literary licence to print this manipulative, flawed princess may have been issued far from the scene of the rhyme, and it beats a hasty retreat from a chilling crescendo. Either way, you get the picture – these wanton women are not bucolic Betty Crockers of a new era.

Mary Lynn is a barroom rose who wilts in the neon glow and the lass in She Was From The Country ends life as a blood splattered boomerang. This intriguing disc ends with optimism – The World Still Turns Me On – and surreal splendour in The River & The Sun. Bassist Markus Perry, drummer Stevie Martin and Yuko Nishiyama on keyboards all help and enable guitarist Matthews (as well as guests Dan Houlihan and Cam McKenzie) to ensure the narratives are never drowned. Lovely.

Born from Ballarat, roots/rock trio, Matheson have released their latest record, These Are My Horses.

A sprawling colonial masterpiece, These Are My Horses flows seamlessly around every Aaron Matthew’s lyric and vocal that recalls a fusion between Nick Drake and Eddie Vedder. Big call? Hardly if you lend your ear to the record a few times. Matthews also swirling his guitar sound, and showing just the right tact. No overplaying or guitar trickery – just good, honest licks. Complemented by the kicking rhythm section of Markus Perry who ‘weaves a wonderful low-end tapestry upon which the guitars float’ and Big Show Stevie G. Martin on drums, Matheson are destined for a bright, and dare I suggest, lucrative second half of 2010 if they play their cards right.

The band’s These Are My Horses is rife with feeling. An engaging listen throughout, it’s filled with a passion, sprightliness and groove that many band’s just can’t nail. It’s a full-length record and listen that draws you in, and will have you playing time and time again. Timeless? Bloody oath! Check it out.

“…The first support are Matheson, a rock band who err on the side of country. They sound a little bit like Keith Urban, hyper radio friendly country music, but there is also enough rock sensibility not to alienate the late teenage audience. They’re a three-piece, and their drummer manages to steal the day, annihilating the drum kit with the speed and noise of someone not normally inclined towards music of this style…”

“…Grabbing my wrist band, I followed the crowd into the Gershwin Room. First up to delight the packed crowd was Matheson; chosen by their fans to play the JD Set. Their voting fans made themselves known in the front of the crowd with a resounding cheer as Matheson took to the stage supposedly still recovering from the weekend’s Blueprint festival, not that it had any negative effect on their set.

Conjuring up a cross between Paul Kelly and stadium sounding vocals, Forever Girl brought out a long ballad chorus from lead singer Aaron Matthews. Matthews followed this up with a softer Lullaby and picked up the set with Let The Satelites Fall.

Their sound comes from crunch guitar intermixed with clean bass and drums coupled with massive vocals to create a soundstage far larger than the Gershwin Room. Bassist Mark Perry and drummer Stevie Martin joined Matthews and the crowd for mellifluous harmonies in I Was Her Man. They finished with River In The Sun from their new album These Are My Horses…”

“Matheson’s alt-country odes to love and loss provided a soothing and, at times, spirited set. Safe For Now was the stand out track with Aaron Matthews’ vocals eliciting a depth of emotion. Forever Girl highlighted the trio’s laidback shimmering guitar tones and folk-inspired storytelling, but it was the melancholic tension of I Was Her Man that proved most compelling”

Matheson wear their not-so-alternative country on their red gingham shirt-sleeve making me want to drive through The Heart Land, whatever that means. Tones of Paul Kelly, and oddly Ash Grunwald but the real voice I keep hearing is Caleb Followill of Kings Of Leon. Matheson announce their record is called These Are My Horses and I realise the gingham is intentional. Their sound is Bob Dylan folk-bones under a country-stadium cloak. I’m missing harmonicas as the emotive frontman implores, ‘Lets make a night of this year.’

Mallets on snare and tambourine make inspired light/dark balance within the beautiful Safe For Now, a sleepy, nurturing track that sits comfortably among the venue’s velvet striped chairs and ornate silver candles.

The River and The Sun is bonafide storytelling – sunlight with dust specks floating; nice long grass under a hand-stitched picnic tablecloth; a delicious, sexy undertone. Sounds like it’s got a fiddle, but it hasn’t (but it should have.) A talented bunch of chaps, even if they’re not exactly on my dial. Go forth with a piece of straw between your teeth, drive across the open plains etc.