Matthew Edwards - Hark (Last Tape Recording)

Singer/songwriter Matthew Edwards can’t seem to catch a break. Despite being a brilliant songwriter, a lovely singer, and an incisive bandleader (the Music Lovers, the Unfortunates, the Futurists, the Hairdressers), the Birmingham (England)-born/San Francisco-based Edwards has never garnered more than a small cult following. Not his fault – it’s horribly, almost thuggishly clichéd to say, but music nerds and casual listeners alike seem more stubbornly blinkered than usual in not catching on to his devilishly catchy melodies, witty yet emotional lyrics, and effortlessly appealing sound. It’s a genuine mystery why Edwards hasn’t achieved at least Robyn Hitchock or XTC levels of acclaim.

Maybe Hark will finally right that wrong. Written during the pandemic while separating from his spouse, dealing with COVID, dealing further with the chronic lung disease that was COVID’s aftermath, and mourning his best friend, the ostensible solo album (in reality co-written with his longtime collaborator Isaac Bonnell) is his most emotionally direct release yet. Surrounded by regular companions (guitarist/keyboardist Bonnell, guitarist Craigus Barry, bassist Camilla Saufley, drummer Jefferson Marshall, among others), Edwards lets his heart drop from his sleeve, wander over to the guitars, and paint some masterpieces. The lovely “Haunted Head” arrives soaked in melancholy, yet settles into a plush bed of plucked acoustics and mellifluous vocals. The bracing “The Old Sun” rings and chimes as another entry in Edwards’ book of perfect electric pop tunes. “Fireworks” takes the English folk that often lurks in the shadows of a British writer’s cupboard and molds it into a stunning song as beautiful and righteous as anything the singer has ever recorded. To listen to Hark is to dive into its pool and swim until we’re happily exhausted – emotionally, intellectually, artistically.

Saying more would spoil the chance to discover the other five songs on one’s own. And yet the temptation is to scream to the skies the excellence of every single track – to put ear to speaker whether the head that carries it acquiesces or not. The work of an artist on the edge of abandoning his gift, but not without a fight for his art’s survival, Hark may have served as therapy for its creator, but it sounds like heaven to us.