Posted on August 16, 2009 - by Mark Zonda

Time is a Wound, Music a balm

“And whats wrong with that? ” ~ Paul McCartney

What surprises me the most of the über active Matt Williams – in arte “The Brigadier” - is the astonishing quality of his music and his unexplicable condition of not-for-the-masses related music in the UK top-of-the-pop scenario. It’s really quite discouraging for anyone doing music seeing an artist like “The Brigadier” (or “Semble”, even “Santa Dog”, to bring some other random name in) not being spotted out by media for their talent and musical potential. It’s quite like having to throw an eye on a junkyard for a Ferrari when you expect to see it in a museum in Maranello.

The problem is… that Matt is even getting better, and his third album (third in three years, crazy) is on the front-line of pop attitude and cleaver writings. Very impressive results when we’re dealing with catchy and never predictable (still traditional) tracks when every single note you’ll hear is played… just by Matt himself!

“Time is a Wound” opens with the rocky “I’m gonna make you mine Missy”, gathering in few seconds of opening all my favourite musical references at once: Faces’ edgy guitars, Beach Boys choirs (still not so forgone as anybody would have been tempted to do) and a powerful clear lead vocal havin’ Matt reaching McCartneyan standards like never before. For a fan it’s quite a shiver!

What I like the most of this third album is the overall sense of “happy sadness” pervading each musical creation, with smooth changing of mood leaving the album pleasurable unpredictable with the end, like coloured sides of an enchanting kaleidoscope. “Oh, Paddington”, the next track, it’s clearly a sudden proof of that, with quick changes of mood, melancholy and still a thrilling Beatlesque guitar groove. Talking of groove it’s time for “Why don’t you love me?”, almost a 70’s police show theme with quirky vocals yet again not so predictable, with traces of Queen and Lennon on the go. “Wrong by you” is a sweet lullaby more related to the previous albums, where The Brigadier returns (yet again, with a cleaver eye on the whole album perception) back to basic, with an harpsichord crescendo soon sustained by a smooth choir à-la-letitbe. “Traditional love songs” panders a bit too much to “traditional listeners” and people with diabetes problems, still – hey! – didn’t Wings made an hit from “Silly Love Songs”? “Ode to Escape” it’s a delicate elegy dressed in such elegant clothes that makes a crime addressing to it with the epithet of pop song. “Purnells farm” it’s the “Sgt. Pepper” moment of the album, so happy and nice I left it for a month as wake-up call on my mobile. “Time is a wound” and “Something good” would have found their place on a Queen album for sure (the good old ones),  while I think most of the people will sympathize with cabaret-oriented track “Jobseeker” (with yet astonishingchoirs) and the touching masterpiece “The Insomnia”, very close indeed to the twin track “Watch me cry”.  The Braoque “(I like) The look of you” mix Raffaele Gervasio minuettos with most traditional rock’n'roll guitars, and it would probably raise a smirk of approval on Jeff Lynne on a casual listening.

In the end, after three glorious indie productions, it’s quite a shame having “Paul McCartney” and “Gilbert O’Sullivan” originals on my music collection and not “The Brigadier”. What’s wrong with modern music business cabalistic system? Probably NME has killed more than an employee on the good taste department. God only knows.

The Brigadier – “Jobseeker“

Let it ring on...

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• The Good Brigadier (2)
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