Quantcast
Music
cover art

Cameron Matthews

green.blue.white.

(self-released; US: 12 Oct 2008)

Only 20 years old, Cameron Matthews brings a remarkable presence, unique gifts and loads of potential to his second record. Matthews’ press material likens his work to a meet-up between Jeff Buckley and the Cold War Kids; additionally, he cites bonafide singer-songwriter influences: Elliott Smith, Ryan Adams, Bob Dylan. Yet the St. Louis native seems almost incomparable, hard to peg down, showcasing an eccentric style and a worldliness that belies his age.


Matthews moves seamlessly between folk, rock and alt.country textures, often weaving like-minded yet distinct elements together. Whether ballad or rocker, Matthews and his band understand how to construct a groove, let each song have a natural ebb and flow and allow his wonderfully peculiar songwriting to shine. Among the record’s best cuts are the folky, funky “Park Bench and City Boy Shooter” (an uptempo cut that references Charlie Parker and Jesus Christ in the same breath), “Give You Up for Lent”, a soulful, piano-based cut which features one of Matthews’ best melodies and the satisfying “Bungalow” which matches yearning lyrics and a carefree acoustic glide.


At fifty-eight minutes, green.blue.white. feels a bit overstuffed by track #15, the closing “Current Is Too Slow to Master”. And, at times, the musical quirks which he uses to accent a song overtake it, dulling the quality. Undeniably, though, Matthews triumphs far more than he stumbles and puts listeners on notice that he has a long, fruitful career ahead.

Rating:

Media
Comments
Now on PopMatters
Busted Headphones: Hip Hop Es Mi Cultura
Van Halen: A Different Kind of Truth (Reviews) [Mon, 3:25 pm]
‘The Artist’ dominates BAFTAs (PopWire) [Mon, 9:01 am]
Your Anti-Valentine's Day Playlist. (Mixed Media) [Mon, 8:30 am]
  1. 'Nebraska': Bruce Springsteen's 'Heart of Darkness' (Columns)
  2. The 10 Greatest Shakespeare Film Adaptations of All Time (Short Ends and Leader)
  3. Slipped Discs 2011 - Part 1: From 13Ghosts to Friendly Fires (Features)
  4. Not-So-Central Casting: Kevin Smith and the Birth of the Reality Podcast (Features)
  5. The 10 Greatest Movie Spies Ever (Short Ends and Leader)
  6. Slipped Discs 2011 - Part 2: From the Go! Team to the Phoenix Foundation (Features)
  7. Slipped Discs 2011 - Part 3: From Real Estate to Youth Lagoon (Features)
  8. Lana Del Rey: Born to Die (Reviews)
  9. Bored This Way: The 54th Annual Grammy Awards (Features)
  10. The Top 15 Madonna Singles of All Time (Sound Affects)
  11. Get Off of My Cloud!: 'Collecting' Music in the Digital Age (Features)
  12. Leonard Cohen: Old Ideas (Reviews)
  13. Google and the Production of Curiosity (Marginal Utility)
  14. Carole E. Barrowman’s Authorial Journey to Hollow Earth (Features)
  15. “Don’t Let Me Fall”: Hip-Hop in the Age of Austerity (Features)
  16. Tower Songs: Townes Van Zandt (Columns)
  17. Black Bananas: Rad Times Xpress IV (Reviews)
  18. Paul McCartney: Kisses on the Bottom (Reviews)
  19. The Gay Ole Countryside (Columns)
  20. Of Montreal: Paralytic Stalks (Reviews)
  21. Nick Cave’s The Death of Bunny Munro: A Rock Star’s Midlife Crisis or Valid Literature? (Features)
  22. Counterbalance No. 67: John Coltrane’s 'A Love Supreme' (Sound Affects)
  23. Van Halen: A Different Kind of Truth (Reviews)
  24. A Look to the Past, An Insight Into the Present: The Use of Gender in 'Mad Men' (Features)
  25. The 10 Best John Coltrane Solos (Sound Affects)
  26. A Tale of How Great Journalism Became Revisionist History: Grambling State U Football (Columns)
  27. Chairlift: Something (Reviews)
  28. Mark Lanegan Band: Blues Funeral (Reviews)
  29. Mitt Romney Can Reside at Today's Proverbial 'Downton Abbey'... Newt Gingrich Cannot (Features)
  30. After Cease to Exist: The Far-from-Final Report of Throbbing Gristle (Features)
PM Picks
Music Archive
Announcements

© 1999-2012 PopMatters.com. All rights reserved.
PopMatters.com™ and PopMatters™ are trademarks
of PopMatters Media, Inc.

PopMatters is wholly independently owned and operated.
PopMatters is a member of BUZZMEDIA Music, MOG and Guardian Select.