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.

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NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑 (8/10)

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