Matt Nathanson - Some Mad Hope

Genre rock Publisher Vanguard Records External Links Matt Nathanson Vanguard Records

Matt Nathanson's latest CD Some Mad Hope seems an apt title; for an album that at times shoots for the stars, it merits an A for effort but ultimately a C for execution.

"Car Crash" yearns for intensity, but never really achieves it. The music is pleasant enough, but no match for the intention of the lyrics: "I want to feel the car crash/ I want to feel the capsize/ I want to feel the bomb drop, the Earth stop, 'til I'm satisfied." I felt myself thinking, "me too, but so far, I'm just not." Similarly, "Come On Get Higher" recalls "I ache to remember/ all the violent, sweet, perfect words that you said," and the listener gets second-hand references to something deep and passionate, but never direct experience of it. The strummy la-la guitar brings to mind the line from Barenaked Ladies "Pinch Me," "you try to scream but it only comes out as a yawn."

There are some noble attempts and flashes of insight scattered throughout the songs. "Wedding Dress" describes a not-so-happily-ever-after in a mostly predictable way, but then injects a hint of color with "been jealous of the moon for how it moves the waves." "To the Beat of Our Noisy Hearts" kicks up the evocative qualities a bit with "she brought weekend boys/ home in her curls/ she said my love's a fever/ c'mon touch my skin" in an overall pedestrian story.

"Detroit Waves" is perhaps the most successful rising above mediocrity. The driving guitar impels the song forward, as the lyrics provide more insight more artfully: "well, I'll still say your name to fall asleep over and over/ a cynic saying rosary, a liar living make believe."

There's enough in Some Mad Hope to make it an enjoyable listen, but the title raises expectations which end up being a little misleading. Nathanson's voice has the potential to convey much emotion, but the conventional lyrics and music leaves something to be desired. I wish that Nathanson had taken his own advice in a line borrowed from "Heartbreak World": "come on, let's make this dream that's barely half awake come true."