Matthew E. White – Big Inner (2012)

Matthew E. White is an American singer-songwriter, whose music is really difficult to place in any particular genre. The general sound is quite similar to many indie pop bands of the 2010's, but there are some psychedelic elements and some soul elements as well. Also, the extensive use of horns mixes things up even further. White's debut album is named with an appropriate pun, Big Inner, beginner. I first found Matthew E. White from Rough Trade's listings and I remember being impressed by his song Big Love. I didn't, however, really get into rest of his music. Then, a couple of years later, I saw this album in a sale with just a few pounds and went for it. I still think that some of the songs are fantastic, but the whole albums don't really impress me that much. I don't know exactly why, because on paper, this music should work really well for me.



White's style of singing is really lazy and laconic. It kind of sounds like he's making a toast for himself to eat while singing, like he's concentrating in something completely different than singing. This approach kind of works in this kind of music where there's so many other interesting elements around, but I guess that might be one reason why I haven't started loving Matthew E. White. I am, after all, a huge fan of vocals.

If we look at the other instruments, however, it's a whole other story. This album has amazing horn sections that White coordinates himself. Also, the bass lines are amazingly innovative. The bass is groovy, but at the same time lazy slacking little behind. Some of the guitar licks are amazing as well. All in all, many of these songs sound like slacker versions of 1970's soul or gospel music. Like those albums had been recorded in the early hours of the day when you're really tired.

The album only has seven songs on it but they're quite long, which makes the total length of the album quite normal. The starting song One of These Days is a very lazy and easygoing song with a slow groove and really tired vocals. There's certain kind of seduction in the sounds. My favourite song on the album, Big Love, is a real hit. It has a faster tempo than the other songs on the album and the guitar sounds are absolutely beautiful with their strange effects. Also, the acoustic piano makes a big difference. The bass lines are fantastic. Will You Love Me sounds a lot like the first song. It starts of really slow and quiet and grows a little bit, but all we ever hear is seduction and the song doesn't really explode into full force at all. Gone Away is a blues song that uses similar kind of slacker approach as the first and the third songs. I could picture myself listening to this while walking home in the Finnish summer when it's already light again outside. Steady Pace has a bit more rhythmic approach. There are gospel choir kind of backing vocals in this song. Hot Toddies has beautiful sleepy string arrangements that make it sound like the last song of the night. The last song Brazos starts in the similar vein, but it evolves into more seductive grooves.

I do have to link a music video as well, even though there's not really anything special about the video itself. The video for Big Inner shows life on the road while touring with some live sequences. At least it shows the scope of White's production and how many instruments are needed to make such lazy music.

Listen to the album on Spotify.