In 2009, Matt had the next album almost 95% written when he had to return to the UK for an extended period so all writing and recording stopped until he returned to NZ in 2012. At this point he got together all of the music from the various places it was stored, got in a friend to undertake all of the basswork, and put together an album. It is thematic in the sense that it has a long track followed by a short one, the result being that the album contains some 19 songs in the end. In some ways it isn’t as consistent in its’ approach as the others, but given how the album came together it is really not at all surprising. Again we are treated to some wonderful instrumental numbers where I found that I ended up in a world where I really wanted to stay for a while. This is music that definitely benefits from being played at headphones so that there are no distractions and all of the nuances (such as a simple acoustic guitar drop in for just one bar) are there to be heard. The only positive about not coming across Matt before is that I was able to hear all three of his works in one go, the downside of course is that I am now hungry for more. He is a wonderful guitarist with some great eclectic ideas, and fans of Zappa and music that is made by real musicians really do need to hear this asap. Available, as are the others, as downloads from various places such as Bandcamp as well as CDs from his website at www.lucidbrucemusic.com. Below is his own guide to the album.
“It’s Thirteen” (03.08)
From “The Aranui Sessions” recorded in June 2009. Clunky, quirky and heavy. Like your mother.
“Synthyer” (0.07)
Short but sweet.
“Two Vowels Contemplate The End Of The World” (05.26)
Longest track on the CD. Goes through several changes. No wanky prog solos.
“Fuhdstewl” (00.24)
Short but sweeter.
“Instant Jedi” (02.27)
One of the very few guitar solos features in the midst of another track from “The Aranui Sessions”.
“Rawk” (00.16)
Heavy, synthy, short. Drums by Chris Jago, who once played in goal against Robbie Fowler.
“Mr Weiner Pants” (02.54)
My old Headmaster used to wear his trousers very high. Lots of gear shifts in this one. Third track from “The Aranui Sessions”.
“Techno Bert vs The Klezzies” (00.41)
Eastern Europe meets game show meets Knight Rider on steroids.
“Alive In The Mullet Zone” (3.00)
Fearsome drums from The Jago. Riff-Tastic first half, Jazzy bit, then best solo ever by me. Someone once told me an old song of mine sounded like YYZ by Rush, so the last 4 notes pay homage to the end of that song.
“Deadbiking Trilogy” (04.49)
This one took ages to write. All synth for the first 2 parts, then multi layered guitar outro. Will be the hardest for rock fans to get into, but almost my favourite tune on the disc.
“Late Night Guitar” (00.42)
Four guitars, nowt else.
“Henry Kissinger Must Diet” (02.36)
The last of “The Aranui Sessions”. Starts in 9/4 and morphs into mellow jazz before heavy ending.
“Lou Reed’s Haemorrhoids” (00.10)
Lou Reed’s Haemorrhoids have more talent than Lou Reed.
“Rawk II” (03.22)
Heavy and synthy with a beautiful bass interlude from Fud.
“Death To The Meat Whores” (00.12)
Short but Swede.
“I Haven’t Touched Your Dog, Mate” (03.53)
Honestly, I haven’t. Mellower tune to break up the madness, although there is a heavy break in the middle.
“Widdly Diddly” (00.25)
Sequenced oddness.
“Glass Eyed II” (03.04)
Written to a pre-existing drum track. Heavy, jazzy, clunky.
“Siren” (01.15)
Thereminty. Mellow closer.
