The Review - Matthew Good - Chaotic Neutral
After a tropical break I’m back and so is Matthew Good with a new album, Chaotic Neutral.
Matthew Good was one of my favourite artists to come from the 90’s Canadian rock alternative explosion. How much of a favourite? I camped out at a Victoria radio station, The Q, for a scheduled interview during the Beautiful-Midnight-era. It was a time before digital cameras so unfortunately I’m unable to easily dig up the lobby photo of Good, Dave Genn and I, buried in a box. I’ve stuck with Good ever since, checking out each album and multiple live dates since. I even checked out a book reading session he did in the Alix Goolden church in Victoria to read portions of his book, At Last There is Nothing Left Say (a collection of his online blog I visited all the time during the late 90’s).
Good’s masterpiece to me is Beautiful Midnight. He hasn’t topped it since and most artists only get one in a career anyways. This isn’t to say the multiple albums since haven’t been good, because they have.
The latest offering, Chaotic Neutral, has moments that captivate but as a whole felt a bit uninspired. I don’t know how much collaboration went into the albums under the moniker ‘Matthew Good Band’ but it feels he would due well with more voices during the creative process right now. The album starts with two really standard and bland rock songs. There is nothing new here and it felt like an underwhelming way to kick-off his first new album since 2013. ‘All Your Sons and Daughters’ and ‘Moment’ basically sound like the same song. By the time track three is reaching it’s conclusion and Good is singing ‘slow motion’ repeatedly, I feel listening to this album has brought me to the same pace of slow listening.
But a pleasant about face greets you at track four with ‘No Liars’. Here it is vintage Good and you start to finally hear some emotion. The sneer, attitude with anger mixed in I’ve come to love about Good that was missing on the first three songs is just what this album needs after the plodding start. The energy continues into the next song ‘Harridan’. It makes me feel this album suffers from a poor track list arrangement. Why not launch the record with these two songs and hook the listener? Regardless, it was good to hear and helps me to feel good about going back to give this record future listens instead of the one-and-done treatment. I love the ambient sounds that fill the end of ‘Harridan’ and are joined with a strong guitar/drum beat to bring it to a close.
In a tip of the cap to his massive 90’s alternative rock success comrade, Holly McNarland gets the call to join him on the song ‘Cloudbusting’. It is a very positive song for Good and I love it. The title of the song is clever. Hearing Good sing alongside McNarland and eventually trading verses over a piano works perfectly.
Unfortunately the album ends on a limp note. For Good fans this album is well worth checking out. I’ll be back to give it another listen and hope to hear a more risk taking Good on the next one. With so much promise in the sounds he found on 2011’s Light of Endangers Species, I think we could get there again, and maybe further.
Matthew Good - "All You Sons And Daughters"