Crown Yourself King: A Notable Debut From Matthew Clay
Written: Sep 14 '03 (Updated Sep 14 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Sparkly, fun rock-pop-alternative music...
Cons: A few of the slower ballads are clunkers...
The Bottom Line: Matthew Clay is new to the music scene--watch for him in teh future! Based on the success of Crown Yourself King, the singer-songwriter-rocker should be around for a while.
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| lambchops's Full Review: Crown Yourself King - Matthew Clay |
Opening with a sample of an old broadcast from “Pastor Bob” about the sex and depravity that was apparently to be commonplace in America years ago, Matthew Clay’s debut album Crown Yourself King soon breaks into the slightly off-kilter song Beautiful Day To Die. This, my friends, is an entertaining and sparkling rock track. And with each new song, I find myself continually impressed by this relatively unknown independent release.
Matthew Clay’s music is straight ahead rock with slight tints and tinges of alternative grandeur. With that said, it is the kind of music I usually like. Crown Yourself King is by no means an exception. Clay’s voice is clean, light, and boyish without sounding too precocious. His guitar, which he admits to sometimes sleeping with, is the perfect compliment to his chipper rock songs. “Chipper” as a word can be substituted with a number of other descriptors. I also would call it melodic (in much the same way as personal favorites The Posies or Semisonic) and fun and thoughtful. And I’m pleased to report that I’m overall very pleased with late 2002’s Crown Yourself King. Clay has managed a smile-inducing debut LP.
Pure and fabulous, Crown Yourself King could just as easily appeal to rock fans as alt-pop fans. This is a major strength of Clay’s work. On one level he makes rock, on another it’s clear that he doesn’t take himself overly serious. And this wry sense of humor adds a refreshing facet to his music. As I already said, it all starts out brilliantly with Beautiful Day To Die, one of the obvious standouts. But the album continues in relatively consistent manner. There are a few low-points, but in all I want to offer up kudos to Clay for a marvelous, emotional debut.
I Killed Superman is quirky and focuses clearly on Clay’s outstanding voice. The melody is memorable with a perfectly produced bunch of instruments. It is perfect—not too loud, not too serious, and certainly not too heavy-handed. If Clay hadn’t done much else besides those two songs I think I’d be happy enough with Crown Yourself King. But he went above and beyond the call of duty and shared a number of other lovely offerings.
Aside from the two I’ve already mentioned, I find myself particularly drawn to the epic, evocative Life’s Too Short. And while I think that either of the first two songs could be a hit, this is the one that makes me think that Clay has something more to offer than just a catchy chorus or four. Life’s Too Short is my favorite song here. And the words are just poignant enough to be appreciated, but not so mushy that they are cheesy:
I close my eyes to enter the land
Where song birds are laying with a pixie band
I step into the place of gold
The mountains melt and the wise men told
Crown Yourself King does have one major weakness. The slower ballads are a step back in style. Between the snaps and acoustic guitars of Vintage 99 and the slightly corny piano-driven The One Who Hates Me, I am momentarily distracted from the other better material. But on The One Who Hates Me I can easily draw positive comparisons to R.E.M.’s frontman Michael Stipe.
And even though I like the faster, more energetic offerings I don’t think the slower ones detract too negatively from the other material. Rainbow Tree and I Am The Messiah are both song tracks with the former just light enough for pop fans and the latter almost heavy enough for metal fans. Yet another indication that Crown Yourself King is indeed something that can be appreciated by a wide variety of listeners. Other particularly strong points include the sparkly pop-laced Paisley Point of View and the rich ballad (yeah, I like this one) Saturnine.
One thing that confuses me a bit is how the disc ends. Throughout Crown Yourself King, Clay includes snippets and soundbites from various sources. I think that this disc would have been best left with Saturnine, but instead Clay humbly includes a juxtaposed Lennon speaking first about his acceptance of death and then the official announcement of his death. On my fourth birthday. But that’s another story entirely.
Anyway, Crown Yourself King is a very good album. I’m pleased with most all of it, and Clay himself should be proud of his debut effort. Had I not known better, I wouldn’t have realized that this is an indie release. It is cleanly and expertly produced and sounds as good as or better than many major label albums. Clay has a gem here—I can’t wait to see what he does next.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Track Listing:
01. Pastor Bob
02. What A Beautiful Day To Die
03. I Killed Superman
04. Life's Too Short
05. Living or Dying
06. Vintage 99
07. Music Makers
08. Rainbow Tree
09. I Am The Messiah
10. Boppers
11. Secrets We Keep
12. Phobiotic Daze
13. The One Who Hates Me
14. Paisley Point Of View
15. It's OK
16. Is That The End
17. Saturnine
18. Lennon
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Where To Buy 'Crown Yourself King':
http://www.matthewclay.com
http://www.amazon.com
http://www.cdbaby.com
http://www.towerrecords.com
Recommended:
Yes
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