MATTHEW EDWARDS AND THE FUTURISTS "The First Song of the Revolution EP" (Static Caravan Recordings)

MATTHEW EDWARDS AND THE FUTURISTS "The First Song of the Revolution EP" (Static Caravan Recordings) Listening to Matthew Edwards's new EP "The First Song of the Revolution" reminds me of all the things I like about music. Music that is textured and performed with taste, precise musicianship, and a reflection of one's past as well as the present. The title song reminds me of The Lovin' Spoonful's "Summer in the City" in its intense sense of place and time. The tune is not the same, but the sense of urgency is very much of those two songs. There are traces of Jack Thackery and early Scott Walker, not due to the voice, but more of the narrative snapshot images in these four songs. Edwards is an artist who takes you to an aural sensuality pool, with the added presence of beautiful lyrics. I bring up the past a lot when I write about music, and it is because I feel I live many lives in songs, and I think Edwards has the same aesthetic or approach to music as well. He's fantastic and very much a treasured and shared artist.

Matthew Edwards and The Unfortunates - "The Birmingham Poets" Vinyl, LP, Album, 2019 (December Square)

Matthew Edwards has the knack of writing very literate and smart pop songs.  If I'm drawing a map of similar taste artists, it would include Vic Godard, Lloyd Cole, David Bowie (his later album "Hours" comes to mind), and Mickie Most-era Donovan, with a touch of Jacques Brel. Shamefully tuneful, but with a bite that stings.  "The Birmingham Poets" is an album short in length, but also I tend to play the record over again once I heard it for the first time.  Matthew and his band The Unfortunates do beautiful arrangements that are chamber pop like in one moment, but it also has a strong cinematic or visual sense as well. 

"California, Can You Wait?" is a song that drills into your sub-consciousness due to its catchy melody and chorus.  Yearning for and wanting something so special that is so close, but one can't touch it. Birmingham England is very much the location or the emotional home and Edwards' words reflect an observation that is both slightly nostalgic, but also biting.   There is a Nöel Coward sensibility in that he can convey the everyday of life as something special in its small moments. 

"Birmingham Poets" is an album that sticks to you, as Lou Reed/Mo Tucker once sang, like glue.  No need to remove the record, because, by desire, you will play it again and again.