Search - Indigenous :: Broken Lands

4.5 STARS - BRAVO MATO !

The Electroacoustic Metallurgist | USA | 08/13/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The infallible Mato Nanji has done it again! 'Broken Lands' is another solid from top to bottom album, with not a single filler track to be found. And as much as I hate to admit it, I don't think the quality of this album has suffered a bit as a result of the parting of ways of Mato and his siblings. In fact, I'm on the fence as to whether or not this is Mato's best (non-live) album ever! I really can't rationally arrive at a conclusion when such consistent work is released time after time. Consequently, for me, Indigenous' albums are more about subtle contrasts rather than discernible degrees of perceived quality. However, with that being said, I'm sure you noticed that I qualified the "best" comment with the non-live proviso. As in all honesty, while 'Broken Lands' is fantastic, it's not the mind-blowing landmark Blues Rock release that 'Live At Pachyderm Studio' was. And that's all I am going to say about that, as I do not want to detract from the fact that 'Broken Lands' is another top-notch effort from Mato that deserves unadulterated recognition and acclaim, and should be considered solely on its own merit.



As I stated before 'Broken Lands' is an excellent album, and Mato's attention was obviously focused on the writing of songs to the best of his ability and creating a great album, as opposed to writing songs that would simply be vehicles that would allow him to show off his guitar chops. Personally I enjoy a little showboating now and then, but you have to give Mato due credit for self-discipline as he without question has the virtuosity to do endless self-indulgent guitar solos if he wanted to. Something that should also be noted is Mato's much improved vocals on this album. I've been a big fan of Indigenous since the release of 'Things We Do' in 1998, and although Mato's guitar playing has always been stellar, the same can not be truthfully said about his singing. That's certainly not to imply that his singing was bad, I would just describe it as having been unfocused and lackluster. However, Mato was aware of this slight shortcoming and a couple of years ago astutely decided to temporarily switch his primary focus from his guitar playing to his singing. Well, I am very pleased to say that Mato's temporary focus shift certainly paid off, as his singing on 'Broken Lands' shows marked improvement.



As time has passed it's been wonderful to observe Mato progress into the extremely well-rounded musician and performer that he is. And although I already consider him as such, I think that it's simply a matter of time before Mato is universally recognized as one of the all time Blues Rock greats. In my opinion when it comes to Blues Rock which leans heavily to the Rock side of the equation there are less than ten bands/artists in the genre which are truly outstanding. Indigenous is on that short list and at or near the top of it."

Incredible Music!

Michael Flaim | 09/12/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I went and saw Indigenous live a couple of nights ago and they blew my socks off. I picked up his latest cd after the concert and it's just as good as all the other ones Mato has released. If you never heard of Mato Nanji, you definetly owe it to yourself to check out any of his cd's, they're all good. And, if you have a chance to see him live, then you should definetly not miss it even if it means you have to call in sick to work the next day.



Mato Nanji is the next great blues guitarist."

Great but a bit different

grooveyard gary | illinois | 02/08/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Nato and Indigenous.One of my favorites.This cd with a new lineup still great.The difernce is that the hendrixian blistering blues songs are missing.What you have are some great songs.The gutar playing and vocals top notch as always.I wish there were more fast rockin songs,thats my taste.But the material is top notch.Even though ther are a few too many slowersongs for my taste I cant dicount that the songs are still good so I will keep it 5 star rating in my book. Place I Know and Just cant hide are 2 songs I could put on my best of Indigenous cd"