Matt Stevens - Relic

Matt Stevens - Relic
Genre: Prog Rock/Rock
Rating: 8.5/10

Whilst the last submission I recieved to review was quite a flawed piece of classical music I have recently been contacted by another artist interested in a review. Matt Stevens released his third solo album Relic this september and was kind enough to send me a copy to review and I must admit I was genuinely suprised. Stevens produces instrumental rock which on the whole is not really a scene I've bothered to get into all that much. Following the post-rock explosion of the mid to late nineties bands like scottish pioneers Mogwai inspired millions with their powerful music to drop singing and unfortunately this lead to a genre oversaturated with instrumental bands. The main issue I have with instrumental rock is that without vocals it is often hard to gleam any sort of personality from an album and all your left with is interchangeable bands who are so anonymous they could be anyone. This however I was suprised to find does not have to be the case.

The first thing that strikes you when listening through Relic is Stevens's versatility. Whilst many bands are content to release a whole album of instrumentals that flow one into the other seamlessly, Relic, from start to finish, is an album of constant shifts and changes and this is what makes it such an engaging listen. The music ranges from mellow acoustic guitars to full blown metal chaos. Another key strength against its closest competition is the accessibility, whilst some artist who chose to go down the instrumental path feel the need to compensate for their lack of singer by going over the top into self indulgent complexity, Stevens seems to side step this for more straight forward punchier compositions. The use of Glockenspiel, Mellotron and the odd synthetic beat give the album enough variety to seem fresh and keep you paying attention. Whilst the tracks never reach ostentatious levels of complexity Stevens pulls no punches in regards to curve balls with most tracks ending abruptly at a moments notice and catapulting you into a completely different genre. As far as labels go with such a diverse record it is fairly difficult to pigeonhole, but this just adds to the records numerous charms. If comparisons had to be made I would say that in places tracks have hints of Radiohead, Pink Floyd and King Crimson to say the least but the music here still retains its own identity without coming across as derivative. Highlights include the brilliant closer "30 End" which has huge hints of David Gilmours sedate yet powerful sustained guitar style and the outright brutally schizophrenic "Frost" which see's Stevens push the boundaries of his technical ability experimenting with elements of metal. Other brilliant tracks include "Rusty" a lovely piece of classical spanish guitarwork complemented by some evocative violin  and pacey drumwork, the title track "Relic" is equally enthralling with its shifts and changes between strummed acoustic guitars and brilliantly reverby electric tones.

Overall "Relic" is somewhat of a success story for Matt Stevens. Not only does it highlight his ability as a guitarist but shows his ability to create original and exciting instrumental rock a talent that is truly quite rare. The level of variety makes this an incredibly impressive album on the whole. Highly recommended.

Download: "Relic" "Frost"