Matan - Brand New Blood

Hear The Track Here

Fourth time around for Matan, a young Isreali singer/songwriter who has been around Soundclick now for around a year. Although his initial impression wasn't too favourable, I've certainly warmed up to him since then. When I reviewed The Gate (April 2006) I commented that it was 'interesting, but not exactly gripping'. That was partly down to the song not being sung in Matan's own language, displaying a distinct accent when singing in English; and partly because the music was uninspiring. Hey, can't win 'em all, Travelogue (July 2006) didn't do much to dispel that initial impression but was - underneath the lo-fi production - a cracking little song Gromit. Err, hold on. Not Gromit. That's just too silly. The Flood (March 2007) really bought the songwriting aspect to the fore and was again a song to be savoured so by now it should be obvious that with this artist, the song IS the thing.

Which is probably good really because his tracks are decidely lo-fi so it won't do for those who like to gawp at aural splendours or goggle at the technical wizfuckry of stupidly good production. If, however, you are always on the lookout for a decent song then Matan would certainly fit the bill - accent or not. Brand New Blood, like all his previous songs, doesn't stray too much from it's acoustic/voice base but the little additions Matan makes to it (some string sounds, some etherals whooshes and the like) certainly hep to raise it above the normal 'look at me I'm a singer/songwriter' crowd. As usual, also, the song that is Brand New Blood is head and shoulders above most of that genre. This would be a class song no matter who did it.

To give him his full due, Matan has definitely progressed loads since those first tracks and Brand New Blood just shows how far he's come. Put it like this, if I'd put this out there is no way I'd feel ashamed of it. In fact, it's soft rock accompaniment ideally suits Matan's vocal delivery showing what he does in its best possible light. Sure its lo-fi, it's a little rough in some of the timings but hey I will always overlook that for the feel and tenor of the track. I said, when reviewing The Flood, that it was probably his best track yet but I was wrong about that. This one is. From the way the little touches enliven the proceedings, to the laconic, almost bored vocal delivery Matan adopts, this is a winner especially if - like me - you are a sucker for a good song.

A rapidly maturing songwriter. Highly Recommended Pop Rock song.