The Brigadier: Press/Reviews

The Brigadier-Time is a Wound. The prolific Matt Williams (known to you and me as The Brigadier) is back with a new full-length, and Time is a Wound follows in the footsteps of last year's The Rise & Fall of Responsbility. Williams serves up another quality slice of pastoral pop, the kind of Brian-Wilson-with-an-English-sensibility in the vein of Andy Partridge and The Milk & Honey Band. Highlights include the upbeat opener "I'm Gonna Make You Mine Missy", which throws a bit of Northern Soul into the mix, the jaunty "Oh, Paddington", and the dreamy "Something Good". Not pastoral at all is "Why Don't You Love Me?", which throws in synths and a somewhat funky beat. You won't get that from Andy Partridge.

The third album from The Brigadier (Matt Williams) continues to showcase his extensive gift of music and melodies. It opens with the impressive and catchy “I’m gonna make you mine Missy” which combines a cutting lead guitar and Beach Boys backing harmonies. This is a bona fide classic track that shouldn't be missed. Next, "Oh Paddington" is another magical melody with a slight psychedelic overtones and a bit like a lost Klaatu track. Slowly, the album gets funkier beats in “Why don’t you love me?” - with very 70's style syths and a whispering lead that beckons the listener. Much of the gentle almost narrative Roger Waters meets McCartney comes across on the tracks in the albums middle. Both “Traditional love songs” and “Ode to Escape” will hold your interest till the very Queen meets Moody Blues flavored "Time is a Wound." The guitar work is excellent, but often a supporting player here as the mood and intricate harmonies lead the song. It's my favorite on the disc, too. The songs gradually get both delicate and precious with the melodies and themes, like "Something Good" has a baroque current running through it. This tendency eventually leads us to the Kinks-like burlesque of "Jobseeker" and "(I Like) The Look Of You" with light harpsichord and do-wop chorus. The utterly gorgeous finale of "The Insomnia" is a Brian Wilson/Wondermints aria that tells us the author is begging all his active thoughts to stop and let him sleep. This is the kind of release that will keep smart pop fans up late nights, playing The Brigadier over and over again.

Loyal readers of this blog know our fondness for The Brigadier, the UK-based pop singer/songwriter also known as Matt Williams. Following a string of impressive releases of indie Brit-pop, The Brigadier is back already with his third full-length record, bringing more infectious melodies and harmonies into the world.

The thing that stands out for me the most on "Time Is A Wound" is that The Brigadier can rock! This time out, Williams is more liberal than ever with the electric guitar, which really works on some of these tracks and takes them to a whole new level. You'll notice this right away with the rambunctious opener, "I’m Gonna Make You Mine Missy", which is my favorite track on the CD. The rocking guitar is a refreshing twist on his usual formula of gentle and sweet indie pop. But long-time fans need not worry...there is plenty of the typical Brigadier sound to be found on his latest effort. Even in the rocking "I’m Gonna Make You Mine Missy", there are still his trademark harmonies, hand claps, catchy melodies, and sunny keys.

A strong suit of "Time Is A Wound" is the mix of jubilant pop rock with moody atmospheric pieces. Yet, despite this diversity, every tune remains wholly recognizable as a Brigadier song. For instance, "Why Don't You Love Me" is rich with elements from 70s pop funk and R&B, but the ELO-like harmonies bring it all home to Brigadier territory. The record is not without its quiet, reflective moments, such as the harpsichord enhanced "Wrong By You" and "The Insomnia", as well as the haunting "Watch Me Cry".

In addition to the outstanding "I’m Gonna Make You Mine Missy", I'd highlight the bouncy piano-driven number, "Oh, Paddington", the McCartney-esque "Traditional Lovesong", and acoustic driven (and aptly titled) "Something Good". You also have to check out the lyrically interesting title track, with lines such as "Time heals all wounds...that ain't true when time is the wound". Bringing in rock, pop, folk, this track is another example showcasing the extraordinarily diverse musical talents of Matt Williams...long live The Brigadier!

iPOD-worthy: 1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 12, 13

“And whats wrong with that? ” ~ Paul McCartney

What surprises me the most of the über active Matt Williams - in arte “The Brigadier” - is the astonishing quality of his music and his unexplicable condition of not-for-the-masses related music in the UK top-of-the-pop scenario. It’s really quite discouraging for anyone doing music seeing an artist like “The Brigadier” (or “Semble”, even “Santa Dog”, to bring some other random name in) not being spotted out by media for their talent and musical potential. It’s quite like having to throw an eye on a junkyard for a Ferrari when you expect to see it in a museum in Maranello.

The problem is… that Matt is even getting better, and his third album (third in three years, crazy) is on the front-line of pop attitude and cleaver writings. Very impressive results when we’re dealing with catchy and never predictable (still traditional) tracks when every single note you’ll hear is played… just by Matt himself!

“Time is a Wound” opens with the rocky “I’m gonna make you mine Missy”, gathering in few seconds of opening all my favourite musical references at once: Faces’ edgy guitars, Beach Boys choirs (still not so forgone as anybody would have been tempted to do) and a powerful clear lead vocal havin’ Matt reaching McCartneyan standards like never before. For a fan it’s quite a shiver!

What I like the most of this third album is the overall sense of “happy sadness” pervading each musical creation, with smooth changing of mood leaving the album pleasurable unpredictable with the end, like coloured sides of an enchanting kaleidoscope. “Oh, Paddington”, the next track, it’s clearly a sudden proof of that, with quick changes of mood, melancholy and still a thrilling Beatlesque guitar groove. Talking of groove it’s time for “Why don’t you love me?”, almost a 70’s police show theme with quirky vocals yet again not so predictable, with traces of Queen and Lennon on the go. “Wrong by you” is a sweet lullaby more related to the previous albums, where The Brigadier returns (yet again, with a cleaver eye on the whole album perception) back to basic, with an harpsichord crescendo soon sustained by a smooth choir à-la-letitbe. “Traditional love songs” panders a bit too much to “traditional listeners” and people with diabetes problems, still - hey! - didn’t Wings made an hit from “Silly Love Songs”? “Ode to Escape” it’s a delicate elegy dressed in such elegant clothes that makes a crime addressing to it with the epithet of pop song. “Purnells farm” it’s the “Sgt. Pepper” moment of the album, so happy and nice I left it for a month as wake-up call on my mobile. “Time is a wound” and “Something good” would have found their place on a Queen album for sure (the good old ones), while I think most of the people will sympathize with cabaret-oriented track “Jobseeker” (with yet astonishingchoirs) and the touching masterpiece “The Insomnia”, very close indeed to the twin track “Watch me cry”. The Braoque “(I like) The look of you” mix Raffaele Gervasio minuettos with most traditional rock’n'roll guitars, and it would probably raise a smirk of approval on Jeff Lynne on a casual listening.

In the end, after three glorious indie productions, it’s quite a shame having “Paul McCartney” and “Gilbert O’Sullivan” originals on my music collection and not “The Brigadier”. What’s wrong with modern music business cabalistic system? Probably NME has killed more than an employee on the good taste department. God only knows.