Matt Batey
The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
© 2006 Matt Batey / (CC) by-nc-sa (837101134033)
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Matt Batey's debut EP is a lush soundscape of acoustic indie pop powered by a flawless sense of melody and spot-on vocal harmony that represents all the good things the post-nineties Seattle scene strives to achieve.
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One of the biggest keys to an artist’s success is arriving on the scene in a timely fashion. Those incapable of arriving on time, those perpetually late party crashers, tend to rely on eye-catching bravado and extra pieces of flair to make up for the fact that the party already started, and the line is two blocks long. Well, folks, I am proud to announce that Matt Batey, sans bravado of any kind, has been at the party for quite some time, and he’s not going anywhere until everyone in the room knows who he is.
With a release as strong as Batey’s “The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea,” it won’t be very long before eyes start looking his way. The album is a lush soundscape of acoustic indie pop powered by a flawless sense of melody and spot-on vocal harmony that represents all the good things the post-nineties Seattle scene strives to achieve. This is saying quite a bit, considering that for almost all of the nine tracks that comprise this record, the only instrument to support Batey’s floating harmonies is an acoustic guitar.
On his MySpace page (www.myspace.com/mattbatey), Batey laments, “There is a Band-Shaped Void” in his heart, yet this is not the case for our ears, as the very attentive production of the record does a wonderful job of filling out the sound of every song in a distinctive way. For instance, there are some very cool vocal tricks employed on the tracks “In Your Hands,” and “Outro,” that lend a digital quality to the songs that offset their pseudo-folk nature.
But it is the little things in the record’s production that make the album strong. The guitars are beautifully rendered to sound like you’re in the room with them, yet in no way do they encroach on the presence of Batey’s vocal performance. Songs like “Stopping and Going,” masterfully balance the interaction between Batey and his guitar, making the song’s brevity somewhat regrettable.
Indeed, brevity seems to be an operating guideline for this collection. Only one song crawls above four minutes (“Pontiac Fiero,” a very poetic opening number, which the asks the question “Where do we begin to believe in something other than the weakness in our knees?”), and the record only clocks in at 23 minutes and change. If anything, the length of this EP works to Batey’s advantage, since it can only be a good thing when a listener is left wanting more.
reviews
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Unbelievable!!
author: Cynthia AndrewsThe CD cranks. From gentle to crankin, from emotion to emotion through the entire thing. No boredom here, pure heart, pure feelings. If you hate to feel you will hate this because it brings so many emotions to the front. An excellent job!!! Can't wait to see more by the artist!