Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
Austin, Texas singer-songwriter and multi-media composer Matt Kjeldsen recently dropped a new EP, Last Days. It’s a collection of laid-back acoustic country-flavored tunes.
Kjeldsen, who also composes multi-media for TV, film, and documentaries, offers access to a library of more than 1,000 musical textures. His library, called Matt’s Music Box, is the result of focusing on licensing and publishing, after creating the soundtrack for the Crime Scene Cleaners documentary. His other productions include Equinox Knocks, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Toddlers and Tiaras, and HGTV’s Love It or List It.
Last Days comprises five tracks, beginning with “Closer to Texas,” a good old boy outlaw country tune about going back to the place he loves. Kjeldsen’s mellow voice projects gentle reflective tones colored by a twangy rasp. A crying guitar, played by Mac McNabb, imbues the tune with nostalgic savors.
“I Should Know Me Better Than That by Now” oozes tender pensive flavors, as Kjeldsen ponders a lost love. The lyrics mirror a candid self-examination. The music is smooth and creamy with a catchy rhythm and easy flow. The title track opens with shimmering colors, followed by Kjeldsen’s warm tenor. The song balances a nation slowly falling apart against the fall of the Roman Empire. Tantalizing wisps of recollection provide remotes nuances of uneasiness atop a deliciously beautiful tune.
“What Once Was” opens with austere tones from a dark guitar flowing into a tune rumbling with portentous colors. I love the tight rhythm of the drums on this tune juxtaposed against the suffused breaks. Kjeldsen’s voice delivers opaque energy, risky with smoke-filled timbres.
“Ghosts and Shadows” oozes intense blues/rock pigments, along with a crunching flow and Kjeldsen’s sumptuously dusky tones. The pulse of the rhythm thrums with wicked ambience, like dark clouds hovering over a graveyard.
Last Days is definitely worth listening to, full of a range of harmonics, from velvety to dark and muscular.
Follow Matt Kjeldsen on Matt’s Music Box, Bandcamp, and Facebook.
Listen: Last Days by Matt Kjeldsen
