Matt Herzog is, amongst other things, living proof that genres are rubbish and the best music is best described as just that…music. Give Under The Stack a spin, and this becomes obvious: sometimes he hops from one sound or style to another as he offers up these six scintillating tracks; more often than not, he blends them all together according to his own creative recipe.
‘Don’t Wait For Me,’ which opens, is a great example of his ability to bring everything together – it powers on like a rock track, is full of soulful sax breaks, shuffles like a dance groover, is soaked in bluesy guitar and ebbs and flows on deft and heavenly Hammond harmonics. What more could you ask for?
‘Outta This Funk’ is bass-and-beat funky, as the title suggests, yet sounding like a new take on the classic funk-rock sound, slower and more contemporary, definitely a forward-facing sound rather than just resting on past glories…as glorious as those glories were. ‘Holding You Back’ is soul-soaked and rock-grooved, and ‘That May Be What You Need’ drives the EP over the finish line in fine style.
Right, tangent time, but bear with me. We hear a lot about Americana as a genre, but I don’t really know what it means, and to be fair, you could ask a hundred people and get a hundred different, and often baffling, answers. But if Americana is music that speaks of the American experience sonically, which incorporates all those musical traits and traditions that are quintessentially of that great country, then for this heady blend of rock and soul, funk and roots, rhythm and blues and grooves and moves, I can think of no better label.
Website
Facebook
Instagram
Bandcamp
