Matthew Barber The Story Of Your Life Release Date: February 17, 2004 Label: Warner Rating: Andy doesn't dig rating stuff. Fuck off, critics (yeah I know I know, I technically am one. I should probably do the same sometimes). I'll say it now - This CD does not sound like Sam Roberts! I can't believe I even feel I have to make that point and distinction, rather than leaving it be and just writing objectively about this disc. It stands out so nicely on its own. So if you read this, Matthew Barber, my apologies for even bringing this up. Truth is, I'd gotten a press pack that was so jammed with Sam Roberts comparisons that by the time I got around to actually listening to the CD, I was completely convinced that I'd be hearing that raspy, floaty, trodding rock Roberts has become known for. Imagine my surprise at hearing a slick and polished poppy-rock disc with smooth vocals and much more standard, straight-ahead instrumentation. It's a completely different sound! Throughout the six songs, we go on a journey with Barber, through relationships. There's a couple of foot-stomping moments that are the most akin to a Roberts song, but even that isn't enough to warrant such vehement alignments. I found a lot of the comparisons writers made were substantiated by the vague parallels in the album artwork and duration of the two discs. Sorry, but how incredibly stupid. "Tilt-A-Whirl" looks openly at his unaffectedness at a lady friend. He cracks out a high-pitched vocal here (a running theme this month, it seems), still as butter-smooth as his barely-bluesy purr to his voice the rest of the time. An interesting mix though, this song also has a Spanish flair to it. Actually, one thing I can say that his sound recalls to a point is an updated version of Better Than Ezra. Anyone remember them? "King Of New Orleans?" Anyhow, if you imagine that band's solid, radio-takeover sound in a post-2000 environment, you've got a much better idea of what this man sounds like than "the next SRB." Hopefully people will start actually listening to this CD before writing about it, rather than just reading what has been written and perpetuating this weird comparison. Listen, listen. It's really damn good. It took me a couple listen-throughs to really get into it, and I think that also was in a large part due to the fact that I was expecting to hear something completely different from what is here. But now it's got me highly anticipating more studio work. There are some songs that sound even a bit dark and menacing. "Landline" has a beefy bassline and a sustained organ that keeps the song sounding on the cusp of something truly ominous. It slows down to just a drum, only to smash back to life with a yelp and huge feedback. Some well-placed handclaps in here as well. "We're Gonna Play" rollicks along with some stompin' country-blues action. Barber's voice rolls so easily, like it's all one big fluctuating word in each line. The chanting 'hey's in the background during the choruses are interesting, and the line I want you for my breakfast/ I want you for my lunch/ and when I sleep in on weekends/ I want you for my brunch is pretty cute. "Sentimental Acumen", which closes the recording, is an apparently-rockier version of a song that cropped up on an earlier indie release of his, through PaperBag Records. A clanging piano note resounds through the chorus as Barber asks rhetorical questions about unrequited love. His voice here carries a very pale warble, and has a very slightly gravelly quality, which we don't really see anywhere else on the CD. Quite beautiful. Matthew Barber has a delightful band called the Union Dues, but the disc is only attributed to Barber himself. Lyric Of Choice : What is this heart for? Pumping blood, and circulating love. Song Of Choice : "Tilt-A-Whirl" -Andy Scheffler Elsewhere Matthew Barber website Published : April 22, 2004.