What have you done with your additional at home time? Baking, tidying up, navel contemplation?
Matt used his time to release an album which acts as a primer to his work and as a snapshot of where he was earlier in the year. Recorded as a trio, with Matt pulling double service as vocalist and guitarist and supported by Stephen Barker on Bass and Barney Guy on drums. Twelve tracks recorded live at Audiobeach Studios.
- In The Evil Empire – Built around a riff sharing the same air as Suede’s Animal Nitrate it goes back to the 70s. Are you coming?
- Expensive Habits – Dials up the distortion whilst being reflective.
- Honest Song – Matt’s ouija board summons Post Punk spectres.
- Do You Want To Be A Monster – Funky dystopia.
- Submissive Pose – A lost Pixies b-side.
- Perilous Seat – A sea shanty as viewed through a telescope of Indie discord.
- Envy The Birds – Chiming guitars and existential musing.
- Evil Relief – Frantic and anxious.
- Alter Ego Hi-Way – Id, ego and superego given vent.
- Caught Making Signals – Effects to bathe in.
- A Friend From Far Away -Choppy, muscular guitars for your pleasure.
- Raw Material – Watch Television, the band rather than the idiot box.
A quick summation of Matt’s sound is Velvet Underground fronted by Mark E Smith with occasional appearances from Steve Harley. An unholy mix of 60s/70s East Coast Cool with the obtuse shaman from North West England cooing, whispering and occasionally barking for our pleasure with added South East London yelping.
Last seen live a few weeks prior to lockdown at The Albert in a spiteful, rocking duo with Barney. This release captures Matt as part of a trio. Matt as a performer takes many shapes and guises and this iteration is as strong as any of them. A missive from Matt across the digital wastelands is welcomed as gigs are a distant hope presently. A troubled troubadour running in and out of dark alleyways being chased by god knows what seeking who knows what. Does he find what he wants? Hectic Nights are few and far between currently but even in these unusual times, we can enjoy this one. Music with one foot past and the other… I’m not sure. Pretty much as we all are currently in these unheralded times. A visible past and an uncertain present/future.
Hectic Night is available on Bandcamp: https://mattfinucane.bandcamp.com/album/hectic-night
More Matt Finucane on Plugged In Brighton
- https://pluggedinbrighton.com/2018/05/01/10-questions-matt-finucane/
- https://pluggedinbrighton.com/2020/02/27/skinny-milk-leisure-tank-matt-finucane-prince-albert/
- https://pluggedinbrighton.com/2018/07/01/gig-review-pink-narcissus-peter-cat-matt-finucane-lewis-mckale-the-hope-ruin-june-11th-2018/
- https://pluggedinbrighton.com/2019/11/07/the-familiar-is-twisted-distorted-matt-finucane-the-seizure/
- https://pluggedinbrighton.com/2019/05/01/new-matt-finucane-album-vanishing-island/
- https://pluggedinbrighton.com/2019/04/01/new-matt-finucane-single-perilous-seat/
- https://pluggedinbrighton.com/2018/11/01/new-matt-finucane-ep-disquiet/
- https://www.mixcloud.com/chibberd/plugged-in-brighton-18042018/
- Plugged In Brighton 16/05/18
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