Matt Nathanson - Beneath These Fireworks

By all means, this album should suck. I mean let's look at the evidence. Article A: Matt is good looking and young. Article B: Matt is a singer/songwriter. Article C: He is out of San Francisco. With all the current pretty boys passing themselves off as talented singer/songwriters with songs of corny love and frat-daddy antics, the evidence points towards a forgettable album. Unfortunately, in the court of music, you cannot out argue talent. Beneath These Fireworks opens with a short, but very sweet acoustic piece “Angel”, and then proceeds to hit stride with catchy pop song after catchy pop song. Nathanson's talent becomes quickly evident after only a few tracks. Being the world's greatest guitar player isn’t likely a title Matt is going to win anytime soon, and his songwriting is not going to outdo the Beatles with imagery or depth, but it does show it’s talent in another way - catchiness. The main subject of the album is, of course, love and relationships, but it avoids the pitfalls of being a sob story of heartache, or a sugar-coated, puppy-love album. Songs like “Little Victories”, “Suspended” and “Bent” eloquently balance the heartache with the joy. Staying pop without falling into the stereotypical mold of a pop singer/songwriter seems almost like a paradox, but somehow each song walks the line with skill. Some people are virtuosos at their instruments. Some of them write poetic lyrics, the depths of which will be explored for years. And then there are some that tell it with simple music and with a straightforward message, but they do it in a way you can’t help but like. Matt Nathanson is of course that kind of talent. In many ways a typical pop singer/songwriter album, but instantly and repeatedly endearing because of the catchy melodies and the talent with which the songs are put together. [www.mattnathanson.com]