The Rock Blogger

I turn 23 today, and before I head out for beer and hamburgers, I thought I would come up with a list highlighting some of the revolutionary records that have come out since I was born. It’s kind of a retrospective of where rock has been and where it’s going, a celebration if you will. So here are some of my favorite records, organized by year, that have shared my place in history. Enjoy the list, I’m going to get plastered!

1985

Jesus and Mary Chain. Psychocandy

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I’m heading to Buffalo to see Matthew Good perform the last show in his acoustic tour of the U.S. I think this will be the 11th MG show I’ve seen since I started listening to Underdogs at the beginning of the decade. In celebration of today’s show, here are my Top 5 Matthew Good videos:

5. Strange Days. Beautiful Midnight 1999.

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Well this is it, my 100th post… It’s been a fun ride so far, and things are just starting to heat up on The Rock Blogger, with more readers joining us everyday. And with guest posts on other blogs coming up (more details on that later), we’re bound to be getting even more attention.

While it has been a harsh winter, it has also been a fine season for discovering and appreciating new music from all around the world. Below is a list of some of my favorite Black Metal albums I’ve come across in the last few months, some of which I’ve reviewed already on this site, others which I have yet to write about.

So I hope you take the time to explore some of these works and maybe come to a different understanding of what metal can be about. Rather than just being harsh noise and screaming, albums such as these are steeped in atmosphere and emotive intensity, some drawing on ancient myths and folklore to offer new insight into the respective cultures these bands derive from.

#10. Ulver. Nattens Madrigal. 1996. 4 stars.

The final installment in Ulver’s black metal trilogy, Nattens Madrigal is one of the rawest metal records ever recorded. Rumored to have been recorded deep in some Norwegian forest, this record features impossibly fast, tremolo fueled ‘hymns’ dedicated to lycanthropic urges, using the lo-fi production as another element to its bestial atmosphere.

#9. Paysage d’Hiver. S/T 2000. 4 stars.

Incredible use of the violin, keyboards and classical arrangements matched with despairing, existential roars and primal drumming. Sweeping in its atmosphere and unflinching, depressive drama.

#8. Drudkh. Estrangement. 2007 4 stars.

Ukranian forest metal that celebrates the trails set by nomadic ancestors with its folkish elements and stunning guitar and bass solos. This is mid-tempo black metal full of somber riffs and hypnotic drumming.

#7. Windir. 1184. 2001. 4 stars.

Crazy, symphonic black metal that employs complex keyboard compositions and searing layers of guitar noise to convey the conquest of vast landscapes .

#6. Negura Bunget. OM 2006. 4 stars.

Fascinating and incredibly dark black metal from Romania, Negura Bunget takes folklore from his country’s Wiccan and Pagan ancestries and crafts an album of incredible scope and musical virtuosity.

#5. Ulver. Kveldssanger. 1995. 4.5 stars.

The second and most melodic entry in Ulver’s black metal trilogy. This is a haunting and gorgeous collection of Norwegian folk songs tinged by sinister tones and acoustic chanting. Their incorporation (and focus) on acoustic and neo-folk elements would influence many American bands in their wake.

#4. Emperor. Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk. 1997. 4.5 stars

Symphonic black metal from Norway. These guys were pioneers in the genre and played their black opuses with brutality and searing complexity. The musicianship, especially the drumming, is impenetrably fast.

#3. Wolves in the Throne Room. Diadem of 12 Stars. 2006. 4.5 stars.

Dense, experimental and downright insane music coming one of America’s premier black metal bands. Their sound is like a tornado, terrifying in its speed and blurry, destruction that that comes from unstoppable forces of nature. The musical equivalent to a hail storm - unusual, painful and beautiful to listen to.

#2. Agalloch. Ashes Against the Grain. 2006. 5 stars.

Oregon’s Agalloch is a band that likes taking journeys with their music, moving from haunting acoustic passages, to hair raising riffs, to peaceful melodies, all the course of a single song. Ashes Against the Grain is a meditative listen, providing stark yet beautiful moments that remind you of nature and isolation.

#1. Ulver. Bergtatt - Et Eeventyr i 5 Capitler. 1994. 5 stars.

Easily one of the most melodic black metal albums to ever be recorded, Ulver’s majestic debut is an amalgamation of folk guitar, savage drumming and wicked tremolo riffs. There is an almost mythic quality to these songs, especially the album opener “Troldskog faren vild” that draws you straight into strange, ancient forests, with its Gregorian style chanting and epic guitar rhythms that carry the same urgency as some ancient battle.

While going through rateyourmusic.com, you often come across some pretty bizarre entries. Because the website allows users to post any album in existence up for review, you expect to find some esoteric musings. Here are some of my favorites:

CD Laser Lens Cleaner. Average Rating: 2.2

Best Review:

“Not a little disappointing after the wildly inventive 2-Way Cassette Head Cleaner, but fans of clean production will find something to like. Favorite track: (Untitled)” -jimmyjems.

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Blender Magazine has crafted a fairly thorough list of the Greatest Indie-Rock Albums Ever, naming Pavement’s raw Slanted and Enchanted the best of the best. While I rarely read Blender, I rather enjoyed this list, as it includes several under-rated gems from the 90s. Here are Blender’s picks:

100 The Shaggs - Philosophy Of The World
99 Dream Syndicate - The Days Of Wine And Roses
98 Palace Music - Viva Last Blues
97 The Mekons - Rock ‘N’ Roll
96 TV On The Radio - Return To Cookie Mountain
95 The Dismemberment Plan - Emergency & I
94 Half Japanese - Greatest Hits
93 Big Black - Atomizer
92 Dead Kennedys - Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables
91 The Chills - Kaleidoscope World
90 Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
89 Art Brut - Bang Bang Rock & Roll
88 Daniel Johnston - Yip/Jump Music
87 Wolf Parade - Apologies To The Queen Mary
86 Flipper - Album - Generic Flipper
85 The Clean - Anthology
84 Beat Happening - You Turn Me On
83 The Misfits - Walk Among Us
82 The Embarrassment - Heyday 1979-83
81 The Vaselines - The Way Of The Vaselines
80 Feist - The Reminder
79 Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
78 The 13th Floor Elevators - The Psychedelic Sounds Of The 13th Floor Elevators
77 Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
76 Le Tigre - Le Tigre
75 Galaxie 500 - Today
74 The Fall - 50,000 Fall Fans Can’t Be Wrong
73 Meat Puppets - Up On The Sun
72 The Mountain Goats - We Shall All Be Healed
71 Stereolab - Refried Ectoplasm
70 Mudhoney - Superfruzz Bigmuff Plus Early Singles
69 Nick Drake - Pink Moon
68 Descendents - Milo Goes To College
67 Hüsker Dü - New Day Rising
66 Young Marble Giants - Colossal Youth
65 Various Artists - No New York
64 Cat Power - The Greatest
63 Nirvana - Bleach
62 The Feelies - Crazy Rhythms
61 LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem
60 Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
59 Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine
58 Built To Spill - There’s Nothing Wrong With Love
57 Bikini Kill - Pussy Whipped
56 Archers Of Loaf - Icky Mettle
55 Bad Brains - Bad Brains
54 Unrest - Imperial F.F.R.R.
53 Smashing Pumpkins - Gish
52 Bright Eyes - Lifted Or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground
51 Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights
50 Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous

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Last Tuesday, Pitchfork released their Top 50 Albums of 2007, naming Panda Bear’s psychedelic Person Pitch as the album of the year. While I thought the album was warm, trippy and evoked fond memories of stoned summers past, I honestly thought several other bands were more likely to take the top spot, like The National (#17), LCD Soundsystem (#2) or The Arcade Fire (#27???). Here is the full list:

50 Tinariwen - Aman Iman: Water Is Life
49 Dizzee Rascal - Maths + English
48 Robert Wyatt - Comicopera
47 Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbals
46 Marissa Nadler - Songs III: Bird on the Water
45 Ricardo Villalobos - Fabric 36
44 Les Savy Fav - Let’s Stay Friends
43 Stars of the Lid - And Their Refinement of the Decline
42 Ghostface Killah - The Big Doe Rehab
41 Life Without Buildings - Live at the Annandale Hotel
40 Beirut - The Flying Club Cup / Lon Gisland EP
39 The White Stripes - Icky Thump
38 Wu-Tang Clan - 8 Diagrams
37 Grizzly Bear - Friend EP
36 Iron and Wine - The Shepherd’s Dog
35 Black Lips - Good Bad Not Evil
34 James Blackshaw - The Cloud Of Unknowing
33 King Khan & the Shrines - What Is?!
32 Sally Shapiro - Disco Romance
31 Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity
30 Caribou - Andorra
29 Bon Iver, For Emma - Forever Ago
28 Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond
27 Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
26 Various Artists - After Dark
25 The Tough Alliance - A New Chance / New Waves EP
24 Dan Deacon - Spiderman Of The Rings
23 Studio - Yearbook 1
22 Okkervil River - The Stage Names
21 Dirty Projectors - Rise Above
20 Liars - Liars
19 Feist - The Reminder
18 Kanye West - Graduation
17 The National - Boxer
16 Lil Wayne - Da Drought 3
15 Justice - †
14 Deerhunter - Cryptograms / Fluorescent Grey EP
13 Jay-Z - American Gangster
12 No Age - Weirdo Rippers
11 Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
10 Burial - Untrue
09 The Field - From Here We Go Sublime
08 Battles - Mirrored
07 Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
06 Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
05 of Montreal Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
04 Radiohead - In Rainbows
03 M.I.A. - Kala
02 LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver
01 Panda Bear - Person Pitch

On their list of The Best 100 Tracks of 2007, Pitchfork Media honored LCD Soundsystem’s terrific “All my Friends” from their LP Sound of Silver which was #16 on my 50 Best Albums of 2007 list. The award seemed fair, as the song does brilliantly capture singer James Murphy’s growing pains with its evocative song-writing, jittery piano lines, inspired chorus, and top-notch production. What do you think is the best song of 2007? Some of my nominees would be “Squalor Victoria” by The National, “Black Wave/Bad Vibrations” by The Arcade Fire and “Suddenly its a Folk Song” by The Future of the Left”. Here is LCD:

Grunge began as a fusion of punk and hard rock styles in the late 80s-early 90s and it slowly mutated into the most popular and derivative style of hard rock by the end of the last decade. Early grunge had a sludgy, gritty sound that was full of distortion, fuzz and stop/start dynamics while also borrowing heavily from 70s hard rock bands like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. With the pop-culture explosion that was Nirvana, the genre’s underground aspirations made a dramatic transition into the mainstream, entering rock arenas across the world with anthem like lyrics and punkish recklessness. The pioneers of grunge were predominately from Seattle WA., as this list below will demonstrate.

Unfortunately, because these groundbreaking bands became so successful, countless other bands milked their sound to no end, giving the world safe and boring “bread rock” like Creed, Staind, Nickelback, Default, Seether, the list goes on…

But don’t let Grunge’s fallen legacy detract from any appreciation of these classics:

#5. Temple of the Dog Temple of the Dog. 1991

Chris Cornell’s one-album tribute band created this fitting tribute to their friend Andrew Wood, the front man for Seattle’s Mother Love Bone, who had died from a heroin overdose. With members from Soundgarden and Mother Love Bone backing him, Cornell passionately screams and bellows his way through 10 life-affirming tracks, making vivid allusions to the powerful ballads of 70s hard rock. This album is most well known for “Hunger Strike” which topped alternative radio and featured Eddie Vedder on guest vocals before Pearl Jam broke out on the scene.

#4. Soundgarden. Superunknown. 1994.

Easily one of the most popular Grunge albums ever, Soundgarden’s landmark album featured such hits as “Black Hole Sun”, “Fell on Black Days” and “Spoonman” where Cornell really demonstrates his unique vocal talent. There is plenty of gloom on this album but enough stellar musicianship and layered arrangements to keep it engaging over the course of an epic 70 minutes.

#3. Alice in Chains. Dirt. 1992.

This is the late Layne Stanley’s magnum opus that plunges the listener into a black pool of misery and self-loathing, sludgy delving into the dark holes of abuse, addiction and hopelessness. The album’s most recognizable songs would have to be “Rooster”, a stunning memoir of The Vietnam War, as experienced by Stanley’s father. Easily one of the most despairing, if not revealing, hard rock albums of the past 20 years.

#2. Pearl Jam Ten. 1991.

Pearl Jam’s first and still best album is a staple of alternative rock, and cemented the band’s legendary status so early into their career. Classic tracks like “Even Flow”, Jeremy”, “Black” and “Alive” can still be heard on the radio everyday, while songs like “Once” and “Oceans” deepen the experience, calling for repeated listens. Melodic yet aggressive, Pearl Jam found a delicate balance between being accessible and provocative, both musically and lyrically. While the urgency of Ten’s songs could never be duplicated, Pearl Jam continued their parade of hits in their subsequent albums as they expanded and experimented with their sound. Because of this constant reinvention of their music, Pearl Jam remains of one the few bands to survive Grunge’s dissipation.

#1. Nirvana. Nevermind. 1991.

I apologize for this list’s predictability, but I couldn’t deny Nirvana the top spot for a genre they helped lay the foundation for. Pretty much everything that can be said about this album has already been said, as it has dominated countless best of lists since it first shook the rock world in 1991. “Smells like Teen Spirit”, “Polly” “In Bloom” and “Come as you Are” have survived the stagnation that constant airplay usually creates, and the album as a whole still blisters with its vicious, reverb-drenched psychological fits, and Kurt Cobain’s smart, ironic, and often unsettling lyrics.

Well there are my five picks for the best Grunge records. Obviously there are many standout bands from this saturated genre I omitted, like The Melvins, Screaming Trees, Green River, early Foo Fighters, Mudhoney and Bush (X), but that won’t stop you from dusting them off your CD shelf.

What are your picks for the best Grunge records? List them off in the comments section below.

Post-rock is a popular term thrown around the indie-music world to describe experimental, instrumental or high-concept music where rock instrumentation is used unconventionally, with a focus on long compositions while often omitting power chords, lyrics and hooks.

While many artists have been labeled as being post-rock, its usage is still controversial among critics who maintain that the term is too broad and outdated. Yet as prominent acts who fit the post-rock ‘profile’ begin to raise in popularity and influence, the term has yet to dissipate. So to help clear some of the confusion as to what this genre is, I thought I ‘d list my favorite albums that I would describe as being post-rock.

#10. Tortoise Millions Now Living will Never Die 1996.

One of the most revered and influential works in the genre, Millions is a kinetic and fluid album that features jazz-influenced passages interwoven with tight, fast-paced guitar work, electronic arrangements and boisterous percussion. One of the founding albums of post-rock, the style and pacing of this work would later inspire Do Make Say Think.

#9. A Silver Mt. Zion. He Has Left Us Alone but Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corner of Our Rooms. 2000.

A Silver Mt. Zion started off as a side-project of Godspeed You Black Emperor and have since branched out into being a full-fledged band. Their sound, like GYBE is sorrowful and achingly beautiful, relying on swooning strings, bellowing bass lines and little percussion (though additional instrumentation and more vocals were introduced in their later albums). This album is the band’s first and it predominantly features string arrangements and sparse production, often mixing classical elements with bizarre (yet hypnotic) field recordings and jangly guitar lines. A brilliant exercise in melancholy.

#8. Set Fire to Flames. Sings Reign Rebuilder. 2001.

Set Fire to Flames is a collective of Montreal musicians (again including members of Godspeed) who create haunting and challenging soundscapes. This is a brilliant concept album where the musicians were holed up in a deteriorating house for several days, forced to collaborate on extended jams which feature orchestrated requiems, strange electronic drones and plenty of natural ambient noise, rounding out a work that is both atmospheric and beautiful. A stunning achievement in chamber music.

#7. Explosions in the Sky Those who tell the truth will die, those who tell the truth will live forever. 2001.

This album is a dramatic, brooding and lyrical affair, with its dynamic instrumental songs opening with delicate guitar lines that slowly spill over into crunching riffs and martial drumming. EITS always pack an emotional punch, creating masterful mood pieces that shimmer with intensity. While their later albums refined their sound with better production and more cohesive structure, this album (being their second) is the most inspiring, cathartic and uninhibited.

#6. Slint Spiderland 1991.

A landmark for the genre, Slint’s schizophrenic dynamics, dark atmosphere, sparse production and skeletal guitar work laid the groundwork for bands like Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky. The songs on Spiderland are hushed, unnerving and strangely beautiful, making edgy and compelling music through the careful creation of atmosphere and tension, rather than working with traditional song structures. The result is an album that is intriguing and gripping, thrusting you across a wide spectrum of emotions.

#5. Labradford. Prazision LP 1993.

The debut album from this Virginia duo was a brilliant melding of ghostly guitar music and striking synthesized ambiance. The songs here are soothing and ethereal without loosing the dark edge provided by the hushed vocals and deliberate guitar work. When listened to in the right context, this album can make for quite a spiritual experience as the songs possess an otherworldly quality to them. Labradford are clearly one of the most underrated bands in existence.

#4. Talk Talk Laughing Stock. 1991.

Another album that has stood as a watermark for all bands designated as being post-rock, Laughing Stock is mind-bending work that takes swirling jazz elements and complements them with energized percussion, cryptic vocals and psychedelic guitar passages. Expanding beyond the conventions of rock, jazz and ambient traditions, Laughing Stock redefined experimental rock music for the 1990s.

#3. Sigur Ros Ágætis Byrjun. 1999.

One of the most critically lauded and successful post rock bands is Sigur Ros, famous for their strange yet serene vocals and otherworldy ambiance. The songs here are gorgeous as they slowly build in intensity, as the string arrangements swirl, the guitars jangle and the vocals steeply climb atop the thundering crescendos. An emotional ride that stirs up vivid imagery and memories.

#2. Mogwai. Young Team. 1997.

Young Team was this Scottish band’s first LP and it offered a blistering example of how dynamic the post rock genre is. From its relaxed and fluid bass lines and cyclical drumming to its calculated and climatic guitar squalls, the epic journeys each one of these songs take are invigorating and immersing. The album’s final track “Mogwai Fear Satan” is a 17 minute maelstrom that never lets up in intensity.

#1. Godspeed You Black Emperor. Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven. 2000.

The holy grail of post rock albums, GYBE’s second full length is a two disc juggernaut that washes over the listener with its cinematic qualities, wide emotional range and sprawling song structures. Their coveted acopyltic jams are infused with heart-breaking string arrangements, tension-filled guitar, blasting horns and other experimental elements like field recordings and vocal samples.

The album is comprised of four extremely long tracks that take the listener on an incredible trip through the darkest pits of despair to glorious bursts of light, proving themselves to be masters of composition and cohesion (I think there are over 10 people playing at a time on this record).

Orchestral and experimental, this is the soundtrack to the greatest movie never made.

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Well, there you have it, my list of The Best Post Rock Albums. I hope it has been an informative and comprehensive summation of this complex and rewarding genre. For more information on Post Rock and other bands that I did not include on this list, check out Post Rock articles on Wikipedia and Allmusic. Cheers.

Here it is, the Top Ten Rock albums of 2007. I hope you’ve enjoyed my list as much as I did listening to it. It will be interesting to compare my Top 50 to the lists put out by Stylus, Pitchfork and Metacritic at the year’s end. Check it:

Numbers 10-1.

#10. Between the Buried and Me. Colors. 4.5 stars.

This album is quite possibly the most daring hardcore album I have ever heard, as the band extend into incredibly long and complicated jams that incorporate the genre’s traditional technical complexities with progressive elements, interchanging vocals and phenomenal guitar solos. Quite possibly the best metal album this year.

#9. A Place to Bury Strangers. A Place to Bury Strangers. 4.5 stars.

A loud and glorious exercise in neo-shoegaze/post-punk/whatever you want to call it, this debut album may where its influences on its sleeve (Jesus and Mary Chain cough, cough) but that doesn’t take away from the intensity shown here. Yes, there is plenty of distortion (I’ve heard the lead singer makes his own effects pedals) but there are also great melodies and song structures underneath all that noise. Songs like “Missing You”, “Don’t Think Lover” and “To Fix the Gash in your Head” are among the walloping highlights.

#8. Neverending White Lights. Act II: The Blood and the Life Eternal. 4.5 stars.

A stirring compilation of gothic ballads led by the multi-talented Daniel Victor, Act II brings together some of Canada’s richest vocal talent to guest on each track, while Victor handles the swirling string arrangements, piano lines and layered guitars. While the different vocalists on each track grant the album a considerable degree of variety, the mood and tone of the album is cohesive and often very moving. “The Living”, “Where we Are”, “The Warning” and “Always” are the most notable standouts.

#7. Radiohead. In Rainbows. 4.5 stars.

Forget about the unique, pay-what-you-want release strategy the band used to get this out, the main draw of In Rainbows is its highly refined melodic elements and its dark yet cathartic emotional impact. Greenwood’s guitar is as hypnotic as ever and Thom Yorke’s vocals are both as inspiring and unsettling as you would expect. While not nearly as abstract as Kid A and Amnesiac, In Rainbows maintains the feelings of modern alienation and anxiety that have made the band’s music so enduring.

#6. Nine Inch Nails. Year Zero. 4.5 stars.

Trent Reznor has got his groove back. After making his relatively safe comeback album With Teeth in 2005, Reznor has accelerated his venerated NIN brand into more experimental territory, offering a politically charged concept album that bursts with electronic squalls and industrial beats. Reznor’s songwriting too has developed, shedding away most of the personal angst you would expect for a broader, more worldly and dystopian outlook that despairs over the bleakness of our political and social realities, rather than strictly dwelling in an insular hell-hole. The music here is noisy, direct, well-produced and distinctively NIN.

#5. The Arcade Fire. Neon Bible. 5 stars.

The Arcade Fire gracefully managed to match the high expectations I had for them following their explosive 2004 debut Funeral. Like its acclaimed predecessor, Neon Bible packs an emotional punch, delving into incendiary themes of war, isolation, religiosity, social decay and poverty. Win Butler’s vocal presence has grown tremendously and the band’s orchestral aspirations are as inspiring as ever. Truly a worthy successor to their previous masterpiece.

#4. Jesu. Conquerer. 5 stars.

Justin Broadrick’s Jesu has cemented its status as one of the greatest industrial projects of the decade. This release is a shining example of musical craftsmanship, with its deliberate beat programming and sludgy guitars that pulsate and reverberate with immersive intensity. Conqueror takes the hypnotic bliss of post-rock a la Sigur Ros and combines it with the heaviness and cathartic energy found in metal acts like Tool and Isis. The result is a landmark album that will surely influence a new generation of artists.

#3. The National. Boxer. 5 stars.

I had never heard of The National prior to hearing Boxer and after I heard it, I immediately got a hold of their entire catalogue. The National possess both intelligence and musical aptitude as they play emotionally engaging numbers that are lyrically reflective and darkly beautiful. Songs like “Fake Empire”, “Squalor Victoria” and “Slow Show” dazzle with stunning lyrical imagery, swooning string arrangements and memorable guitar hooks. An evocative masterpiece.

#2. The Twilgiht Sad. Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters. 5 stars.

The debut album of the year, Fourteen Autumns is packed with drama as the songs build from delicate, almost folk-like serenades into crashing crescendos, evoking feelings of desperation, longing and anxious anticipation. James Graham’s distinctively Scottish bellow resonates with the band’s drawn out guitar haze and martial drumming. The songs here are vivid, earnest and empowering.

#1. Matthew Good. Hospital Music. 5 Stars.

The coveted number one spot goes to Matthew Good’s tumultuous album that explores the deep dark spaces of his afflicted personality and the world at large. Suffering from bi-polarity, Good’s recent personal life has been a perfect storm of illness, broken relationships and a bleak worldview that leaves the socially conscious with the burning globe on their shoulders.

Good’s emotional investment in these 15 tracks is as clear as day, as the songs range from being vindictive, hurt and angry to resigned, distant and defeated. Whether he is singing about the hypocritical political initiatives of the West in “Black Helicopter”, personal heartache on “She’s in it for the money” or lashing out at the general apathy of our materialistic society on “Champions of Nothing”, Good’s lyrics are as poignant as ever.

As far as the music itself, Hospital Music offers a generally stripped down approach on the majority of the tracks, focusing on intimate acoustic performances with the subtle accompaniment of piano, strings and keyboard, drawing the listener closer into Matt’s personal state and challenging them to take a good look at themselves. An honest and uncompromising record, Hospital Music is a work of intense introspection.