Twenty-nine albums later, Maurice Mattei is strumming his guitar and mailing CDs the old fashioned way.
In a manilla envelope on my desk in the office, “BEWILDRA” stared up at me as I came in the door. I had, up until this moment, never heard of Maurice Mattei. All I had was a CD in my hand and, thankfully, a private Soundcloud link as well. But where’s the fun in that?
The name, the album art, it could really be anything. As it’s sadly not 2010 anymore, I had to do a mental check for the nearest CD player I could use – thankfully, my car still has one (that I would be using for the very first time).
Now, sitting in the driver’s seat, I could really take it in. My imagination ran wild as I popped it into the slot.
I wasn’t expecting the sound of a road-weary troubadour, playing off in the corner of a smoky room. Over thirty-one tracks, Mattei tells stories about love and death, rich and poor, religion, revolution and an “All Nite DJ” – and the vocal delivery, I can only describe as “Tom Waits-esque”.
Sometimes, music isn’t about analyzing every lyric and poring over lush instrumentation; it’s about feeling something. The emotion almost vibrates off the strings, and Mattei’s growly croon paints strange, dreamlike pictures. No need to overthink it. Just let yourself experience it.
Thing is, you aren’t able to – at least, not yet. The CD release show for BEWILDRA is slated for December 11th at Southgate House Revival. If you’re into the kind of broody, moody songs about whatever you might find on a beat up old 8-track in a bar, I’d encourage you to go.
You can find last week’s feature on Bear the Moon here. Leave a comment on our Instagram or email me at ebloomfield@linknky.com with your suggestions for next week’s local band highlight!
