Matt Maltese – Anytime, Anyplace, Anyhow
You gotta force people to hunch in to listen real closely if you truly want them to hang on to your every word. You gotta say little and make every sentence count. And to do all of that, you may counter popular belief and want to adopt a vocal tone that forces the listeners’ ears to perk up. Get them to work a little bit. Make them have to concentrate in order to understand.
Rock n’ roll that pushes you up against the wall is all fine and good. Dance music that forces you to dance like a maniac in the street is loved by many. But that’s not the music people come back to on long, lonely nights. That’s not the music that someone pours themselves a big glass of whiskey while listening with their eyes closed.
People who are both lonely and desperately in love might want to choose Matt Maltese’s “Anytime, Anyplace, Anyhow.” I can’t promise that this will be as soothing as it is for the people who can merely observe from the sidelines. But I can assure you that the songwriting is top-notch. The lyrics speak of an incredible longing, of the seduction from the things that are worse for one’s health and sanity. It’s all intoxicating and rather hopeless. And, more than anything, Matt Maltese makes it all sound beautiful.
Rose Hotel – cool
Most people treat life like a stressful job interview. Every discussion with a stranger is an opportunity to use every second to talk about yourself. Every daily task is a challenge that has to be fixed as quickly and efficiently as possible. And it goes without saying that while you’re out doing these things, you’re sweating bullets the whole time.
Many musicians take a similar strategy. With so many trolls just waiting to counter your efforts by yelling out, “You can’t play!” most musicians feel the need to decorate every available second of recorded time. We’re left with Eddie van Halen-wannabes and singers torturing dogs with piercing high notes, but not with much knowledge of what these artists are truly like.
Rose Hotel goes for a completely different approach. “cool” is a song where everyone involved takes a breather in order to make what is truthful about the song come out. Possibly inspired by recent Jessica Pratt recordings and older Courtney Barnett music, Rose Hotel searches for beautiful sounds and pairs with just as beautiful silences. “cool” is a song about overthinking the moves necessary in the game of love, and it’s a mighty impressive recording.
