Album Review: Matthew C. Whitaker – Songs for the Weary

If you’re familiar with Henge’s mystic mayhem water-rock – or even better, have seen them at the legendary Space Cassette – you still won’t be ready for their vocalist’s new album.

Matthew C. Whitaker is a magnetic stage presence, and with Henge the focus is on delivering a performance that is in line with the band’s cosmic traveller vibe. Songs for the Weary, on the other hand, is more at home in the 50s and 60s music scenes that existed outside the rock and roll sphere, romantic and relaxing. But it’s a sound that has in recent years come to represent a duality that, once seen, is hard to ignore.

Chestnut Tree plays a neat trick, with faint whispers of the Harry Lime Theme adding both whimsy and wariness to a tale of a man living in a garden for reasons unknown. Lucid Dreamer, another album highlight, had me thinking of Moon River, awash with nostalgia and strings, but existing in an ‘uncanny valley’ where you’re not sure if it’s a lullaby or something less wholesome.

On Logan Stone, the Montovani strings and somnolent Latin beats induce a very chilled feeling, but the lyrics take you elsewhere. A Logan Stone is a rock, large or small, that is (im)perfectly balanced, easy to move from its equilibrium. And knowing that, the song has a less soothing demeanour.

There may be something else at play here, however – if you’ve watched the Fallout, Twin Peaks, or Loki TV series, then the sound of Songs for the Weary will strike a familiar and uneasy chord with you. Take it on face value, however, and Whitaker is adopting adult pop of a bygone era for modern audiences.

Digging under the surface, especially when it comes to the lyrics on songs like For the Weary, I sometimes felt like I was stuck in some kind of sleep paralysis – the initial promise of safety and security in the arrangements almost inevitably giving way to a growing sensation that something is lurking, stopping you from reacting for a fear you can’t quite verbalise. 

My parents often listened to the music of Paul Weston, Mantovani, Nelson Riddle, and Henry Mancini. Songs for the Weary brings back some bittersweet moments for me, and that might be why it hits me so hard on an emotional level.

That doesn’t take away from what an accomplished album this is and how brilliantly Whitaker has balanced such different concepts under a lush and romantic, yet unnerving, central theme, one that stands up to repeated listens.

Songs for the Weary can be picked up on 10-inch vinyl on Bandcamp. Matthew C. Whitaker embarks on an extensive UK tour in the wake of the album’s release; head to his Facebook and Instagram feeds for more info.

Header photo by Antony Barkworth-Knight