THE RECOMMENDER – NUMBER 87 – NUMBERS GAME

NUMBERS GAME

Doc Matthews is one of those wonderful, rare, mould-breaking types.  You know the sort.  He’s one of those guys that has creativity, invention and ideas pouring out of him like an Olympic fountain.  It’s the same fantastic affliction Beck Hanson or Lou Reed has.  They always stand out from any other trend that’s going on around them and you couldn’t stop their production if you strapped them to a nuke and fired it into an active volcano.  Doc seems to be just as happy directing films as he does music, such as his You Should Be Throwing Parties series, or his work on Animal Collective‘s video for In The Flowers.  It’s his music that’s earned him entrance to The Recommender though, as his strong concoctions have us dizzy with appreciation.  He declares that he’s writing “anthems for The Bummer Republic“, which suits his music’s San Francisco/Californian hazy disposition.  However, you don’t have to be baked out of your mind to appreciate the genuine musical ingenuity that’s found in his compositions.  Like his films, it all has a very DIY feel to it, which, apart from the fact he writes every song, plays every instrument and does all the production himself, means the sound is unpolished and loose, like all great slacker canticles.  The grunge basslines, guitar riffs The Stooges would be proud of and echoing vocals often seem lost in the dope smoke, but the palpitating beats, breaks and well placed details manage to allow each song to leave the room for a bit of air.  This is unlikely to be material that aims for the number one spot, but in reality it’s creative minds like Doc’s that are the unrecognised kiss of life to the progression of music with each generation.  This is music that spans the genres so well it will send vibrations through most teenagers grey matter, for it has the alternative feel of indie, the beats of dance, the attitude of punk and the mood of grunge.  There are dangers when you’re producing music this brave though, for when you try to span too broad a gap you can lose your balance and fall over.  In the mean time, whilst this independent creator is at work, we suggest you all stand up and take note.   (MB)

Find him here:          Myspace

Hear him here:         NUMBERS GAME – LOVE DREAM LOVE

Hear him here:          NUMBERS GAME – COLD COLD COLD