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Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Everybody
Down
Artist: Matthew Label: Rykodisc Length: 12 tracks/54:02 If you’re like me, the last few years you’ve been asking yourself the question, “What happened to the band Seven Day Jesus?” Well, we finally have the answer to that question. Singer Brian McSweeney and drummer Matt Sumpter have moved on to be a part of the Chicago band Matthew. Jason Sipe (formerly of Sleeping At Last) joins on guitar and James Scott provides the low end on bass. Matthew goes way beyond what Seven Day Jesus was ever capable of. The style is heartfelt modern rock with much more emphasis on the heartfelt part than the modern part. Matthew makes quality music. When they jump into an upbeat rock chorus like on the song “Everybody Down” or “Open Wide” it’s one that will stick with you. When they head off into more mellow territory on songs like “Breathing” or “In the Wonder,” it doesn’t put you to sleep, but instead it moves you internally. A big advantage that Matthew has over Seven Day Jesus is that they are not on a Christian label so they don’t find themselves confined lyrically. The songs are about life and relationships, not religion or agenda—even though a definite spiritual influence can be found. All of the songs are very well written. The main draw that Matthew has is the vocals of Brian McSweeney. I remember that he displayed some good pipes with Seven Day Jesus, but here he is simply amazing. He pulls off high falsetto notes with no problem and can also sink a little lower when needed. On songs like “This Time” and “Where Did You Go” his voice soars overhead the music, creating what begs to be called musical perfection. Even so, his best vocal performance has to be the album closer acoustic track “Overboard,” a stripped down song that is full of emotion. It’s hard to find many faults
with Matthew’s debut CD. Even the one or two songs that seem a bit flat
still sound good in their own way. This CD has to be the biggest surprise
for me yet this year. When I first heard Matthew I expected to hear a good
CD, instead what greeted my ears was the kind of debut that most bands
only make in their wildest of
Trae Cadenhead 8/18/2002
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