Album Review: Matt Berry - "Phantom Birds"

 

And so Matt Berry joins King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and Beans on Toast in that elite club of artists who've had two albums reviewed on Nite Songs in the same day. We'll be dealing with his new album The Blue Elephant later today but first, we're going to do a quick bit of catching up with Phantom Birds which saw the light of day late last year.

Of course, most people know Berry from his comedy acting work with the likes of The Mighty Boosh, Snuff Box, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, The IT Crowd, Toast, House Of Fools and most recently the excellent What We Do In The Shadows TV series. What some people may not know is that the guy is also an accomplished musician with this being no less than his sixth album.

The main surprise is that it's a genuinely lovely and heartfelt collection of songs. The obvious touchstone here is Bob Dylan but I can also hear a connection to the aching torch songs of more contemporary artists like Tensheds. For the most part, it's all tales of yearning on the likes of the title track and You Danced All Night but the likes of Moonlight Flit tap into a more playful sound, not entirely unlike Elton John in his early '70s Americana phase (Tumbleweed Connection etc)

There's a definite country influence on here as well - the likes of Man Of Doom and Hail To The King definitely bring up memories of Steve Earle while Take A Bow's ode to the simple pleasures in life and Something In My Eye's surprisingly deft lyrics about mental health are other highlights. The work of former Verve man BJ Cole on the steel guitar is impressive throughout as well.

I suppose the biggest surprise here is just how good Berry, a man best known for his comedy acting, is at playing this surprisingly straight and sounding genuinely affecting throughout (just give the quite beautifully desolate That Yellow Birds a listen for proof). It actually takes a bit of recalibrating your head to hear that well known voice sounding unmistakably familiar but at the same time completely different to how you normally perceive it.

A genuinely well-written and engaging album, Phantom Birds is a real triumph. Simple, to the point, great songwriting. Well worth your investigation.

Bandcamp

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑 (8/10)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Garbage Days Revisited #67: Jason & The Scorchers - "Still Standing" (1986)

Image
  "And though you are so far away, ten thousand miles of sorrow/This prison cannot, will not kill our blessed free tomorrow"  - Jason & The Scorchers  - Good Things Come To Those Who Wait Like a lot of Britrockers my age, it's probably Ginger Wildheart 's fault that I became a Jason & The Scorchers fan. They're a band who the G-man has never made any secret of his admiration for and the Wildhearts even covered the Scorchers classic White Lies  as a B-side to Anthem  many years ago. Most people who've heard them will happily tell you that the group's 1983 EP Fervor  and their 1985 debut full length*  Lost & Found  are classics of the cowpunk genre, the perfect missing link between Johnny Cash and the Ramones and you can add me to that list as well. The follow-up, 1986's Still Standing though? Now that one seems to be a bit more divisive. And that's why it's the one we're covering here on Garbage Days Revisited... (* - well, sort
Read more

Album Review: Steve Vincent - "Recovered From My Past"

Image
  Best known as the frontman of Brit sleaze perennials Paradise Alley, this is the first solo album from Steve Vincent. I have to be honest, Steve's day job band are one of those who I've heard of but don't recall hearing anything by but the general signs here appeared to be promising with a guest list including the Wildhearts' Danny McCormack, ex-Dolls and current Mike Monroe guitarist Steve Conte and McCormack's old Main Grains bandmate (along with several others) Ben Marsden. The first thing to be aware of here though is that if you're expecting a Soho sleaze by numbers affair then you might just be in for a bit of a surprise. If anything, Recovered From My Past  sails closer to the shores of power pop or the vintage strain of '80s Brit-glam (the Babysitters, Soho Roses, Torme, Marionette etc) with a healthy dash of early Hanoi Rocks in there as well. Certainly the harmonica honking likes of Yesterday's Man , Last Train To Babylon  and Can't Bring
Read more

Album Review: The Wannabes - "Monster Beach"

Image
The Wannabes are the musical brainchild of Nottingham resident Wayne Zenith and from looking at the guy's  Bandcamp page , I think it's fair to say he's a somewhat prolific feller with over 50 releases under various incarnations on there. Musically, as the title and artwork probably suggest, it's pretty straightforward Ramones style three-chord headbanger territory (including a competent cover of Rockaway Beach ) with a touch of the Cramps' gleefully sicko gorehound tendencies as songs with titles such as I Was There At The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Stuff Cindy In The Incinerator  suggest. There's a few little tricks in there to ensure this doesn't fall into one trick pony territory though with the keyboards over the top actually adding a bit of a '60s Nuggets  style feel to some of the songs especially opener Somehow  which even has an extended piano-led break in the middle - brave move but it works. The more moody mid-paced Drag You Down  (whic
Read more