Tuesday's Tunes Review (Matt Nathanson)

It's been well documented that I'm a fan of Matt. I've seen him a few times and am looking forward to seeing him with Train and Maroon 5 in KC in September. He's absolutely hilarious in concert and I think that's part of why I love his music. Musicians forget sometimes that it's not just about how they sound, but who they are as an artist. And he gets it.

His big release on his new album is "Run" which is done with the Sugarland duo. This song hits me a bit weird though and I like Sugarland (one of the only country artists I own songs by) and I don't know if it's the pace of the song or the lyrics, but each time I listen to it I have a different reaction to it. I enjoy the harmonies, but something about this song doesn't quite work.

Although I'd say he's known for his love ballads, I found myself enjoying his up-tempo songs more. The first track, "Faster" has a great beat and I enjoy the horns in the track. And his title track, "Modern Love" has great instrumental support, although I found at times he sounded more like he was speaking during the verse and not really singing. "Mercy" has a good chorus, but fails a bit in the verses. It's almost like he's trying to do the transition to more of a rocker and away from the niche he's in currently.

"Kept" is probably his best slow song on the album. Great tone, subdued instruments, and some pretty good lyrics. But that's probably the best the album has to offer. "Drop To Hold You" has some promise and may grow on me. Same with "Bottom Of The Sea" but it's almost too cute in what he's trying to do with the song.

When I first listened to this album from start to finish on the flight back from Chicago, I remember getting done with the album and thinking "crap, I didn't go back and play a song over to hear it again." And that's probably a good barometer of the album's talent. I'm still a fan of Nathanson. I just hope he hooks me onto a song when I see him in concert. Right now, I'd rather hear him reprise his "At the Point" album at the show than do any new stuff. But, I can definitely see myself coming back to this album later, giving it a listen, and having a different perspective on it. I just hope it's a better one than the ho-hum view I have of it now.