Search - Matthew Good :: Hospital Music

Stunned...

warrian | Minneapolis, MN United States | 08/07/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I waited months to review Matthew Good's previous full length album "White Light Rock and Roll Review" because despite the fact that I knew it was good, I didn't really connect with it the way I did his earlier works. The reason I waited so long was I wanted to make sure my reaction wasn't through an impatience on my part to let the album do its work on me as a listener. I had then, and still have a faith in Good as an artist to bring something new across in his music that exists somewhere outside my expectations. I did have some clue as to what this new album "Hospital Music" was going to be about, as I tend to follow musicians whose work excites me pretty closely. Nothing however could prepare me for what I heard when I first put "Hospital Music" in the CD player the other night. I'm writing this review after having only listened this CD twice in its entirety because I feel as an answer to my last review, I owe it to the artist to try and capture some sliver of the emotional reaction I'm having to this. Indeed, this set of songs and their delivery put "WLRaRR" itself in a whole new light. It's hard to imagine this album being quite so effective had that one not existed. His sound here is raw like on that record (raw like an exposed nerve) but he doesn't shy away from the majesty and drama of his earlier releases either. What makes "Hospital Music" truly transcendent though is the openness and honesty on display. Some of this actually hurts to listen to. Besides being in awe of his craft and his almost singular ability to constantly wrap difficult and intellectual phrasing around instantly memorable and seductive hooks, the allure of Good for me has been in the way he always seems to express how I feel about certain things far better and with more resonance than I am able to myself. Maybe that last part is what attracts me to most music for that matter. This album doesn't do that much. This album is so intensely personal (and specifically personal) that it can be very hard to relate to. However, in denying me that, it actually takes me a step further. It inspires an intense empathy that words frankly fail to do justice, and I can't think of a better compliment to any work of art. "WLRaRR" showed that Matthew Good could do low-fi, songwriter-centric rock just as good as anyone. "Hospital Music" however puts him back on a path of doing the best work imaginable in way that very, very few are able to. It's one of the best rock albums I've heard in ages, and I thank him for it."

Picking up where "Rooms" left off

Chad Mannlein | Burtchville, MI United States | 08/10/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I appreciate artists who mature and and evolve rather than those who continually try to sound like, well, themselves. Good has produced his most lyrically honed record with poetic flashes of brilliance as in "Champions of Nothing." Each Matt Good solo record sounds very different from its predecessors. If you are a fan of Good's slower songs and or acoustic recordings (which I am not) then this is THE Matt Good record for you. If you like his heavier and faster songs such as "Oh Be Joyful" then you will be initially disappointed. As a live performance I believe this record would be very moving and much more powerful to someone who shares my tastes. "Hospital Music" is not the record I expected and I appprecitate the fresh surpise as it grows on me with each listen--especially the beautiful cover of the Dead Kennedys "Moon Over Marin." I cannot criticize it for having a bad song in its contents. However, this is not a record that will throw you back and forth as "Avalanche" or rock you with a heavy bluesy sound such as "White Light." This record is slow and meditative as its title impies. Kudos on another great record Mr. Good."

Painful

SKOLVK | TUCSON | 09/09/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've heard some dark material from Mr.Good in the past but this album is easily his most personal and introspective. "Hospital Music" is Good's follow up to the excellent and old school rock influenced "White Light Rock and Roll Review". "Hospital Music" is even more of a throwback for Good as he goes back to his Pre Matthew Good Band solo work writting style. Good isn't shy about exercising his demons on this album. One of the many things I love him for. On "Hospital Music" Good has written tracks about his recent overdose, suicide attempt and divorce. Good articulates these experiences into beautiful and painfully rueful songs that you can't stop listening to. They seem to haunt you in a way. But not is all somber and bleak. Like all Good albums there is a devilish sense of humor and a determination to persevere through it all. If you've never heard Matthew good before, you're in for a real treat. He is the most witty, talented and brutally honest song writer(also one of the most underrated and overlooked) working today. If you're not a fan, you will be soon."