Album Details

• Artist: Matthew Heller
• Album: Matthew Heller
• Label: Heller High Water
• Year of Release: 2012
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: mark_morton on 2012-07-25

Media

Upon an initial listen, Matthew Heller sounds like a garage band done good. There is a soulful chaos to his sound, akin to The Rolling Stones meets Iggy Pop.

Each instrument is used as a weapon in his unconventional battle to entertain an audience. The piano is his net to lure in unsuspecting listeners, while the bass and drums are the teasing hypnotists that keep the audience riveted. Most interesting is his use of dissonant guitar leads that sound less like arpeggio-laden Malmsteen-isms and more like the Nirvana-esque middle finger to the industry norm.

And yet, for all his raging, there is something subtly mesmerizing about his aural concoctions that make you want to hold them at arms-length one moment and melt into them the next.

He is one of the more aggressive singer-songwriters to ever come upon the music scene. And yet for all his anti-establishment candor, "Girl Into a Rose" has the chops to emerge as a hit single, notable for its Billy Joel-skewed, piano-driven storytelling seasoned with a Gavin DeGraw quirk. Elsewhere is "Wicked Son," an acid-blues rocker that can give Neil Young a run for his money in any decade.

His brand of technically sound genre-bending with a pop edge has the perfect musicality to speak for this generation of disaffected, angry youth of America who aren't quite ready to break the law. He is a fearsome brand of gut-spewing, angsty folk rock that might scare the coffee house crowd away but would fit right in as an arena rock opener.

While this mixture of aggro-pop-folk may confuse many on an initial listen, the effort is highly commendable, as it proves that there is at least someone out there who is trying new things with culturally stagnant ingredients. Matthew Heller is a concert promoter's wet dream and a publicist's nightmare.

User Reviews and Comments

on 2012-07-18 joehell36 Said:

MATTHEW HELLER
Matthew Heller grew up on a small farm in Portland, Oregon. He started writing songs on piano at age ten. He has traveled across the country playing and meeting amazing people

Hellers sound is heavy, like a monkey wrench. Hellers songs feel like a four-way between Frank Black, Karen O, Billy Corgan and Ani DiFranco; caustically political, dark and moody, while still thumping and catchy.
Folksinger/songwriter Matthew Hellers self-titled breakthrough album brings together a wide variety of sounds and genres including folk, indie, and grunge. - Girl On The Go PDX
Two beings seem to be competing for Portland singer Matthew Heller's soul. One is a snarling, "Stick-it-to-the-Man" folk-blues-buzz-rocker who, despite all his rage, is still just slightly less angry than Billy Corgan, although Heller probably has more real reasons for his angst than his multi-platinum counterpart. - Rob Cullivan, The Portland Tribune
Matthew Heller a pianist and songwriter from Portland Or. has gracefully emerged with his self-titled new music release Matthew Heller with excellent reviews and eight inspiring songs surrounding his life, family and friends. -Our City Radio

Not Rated