Moving Walls Released!!!

[Coochiemudlo]

On my first few listens I was pretty underwhelmed, however now that I have had time to digest the album I am absolutely loving it.  

It is not going to make anyone a Matt Good fan, however for those who love his work this album is a real treat that I am very grateful to be experiencing.  

[Prairieboy]

Yep - this album is a grower. First few listens was “okay” but with each listen, it keeps growing on you.  Makes me want to go back to LOES and the slower songs on Chaotic Neutral, with no desire to listen to AOD or even the older rock albums. It’s like this is what he was meant to be. Wonderful to see how an artist can grow and change. Bravo, Matt. 

[Guest Rhu8ar8Pi3]

16 minutes ago, Prairieboy said:

Yep - this album is a grower. First few listens was “okay” but with each listen, it keeps growing on you.  Makes me want to go back to LOES and the slower songs on Chaotic Neutral, with no desire to listen to AOD or even the older rock albums. It’s like this is what he was meant to be. Wonderful to see how an artist can grow and change. Bravo, Matt. 

I agree with you 100%. I give this album a rating of 10/10. I can't wait to hear how it sounds live at the full band and acoustic concerts in April.

[AnOceanPearl]

Right now I am really enjoying this album, but the true test is going to be if I end up coming back to it later on. I listened to Something Like a Storm for a couple of solid weeks right after it came out and then didn't have any desire to listen to it after - similar things happened with Arrows and Chaotic Neutral but it took a bit longer for those two. My tastes have changed so much over the 20 years I've been listening to Matt that it was bound to happen that I wouldn't connect with some of his work, but I feel like Moving Walls is the right album at the right time for me and it's been a treat to listen to - so much so I think I am going to go to both Vancouver shows.

There's a few tracks I tend to skip (Beauty, Your Rainy Sound, Fingernails), but the Lumière Noire-A Thousand Tons-The Heights sequence is my favourite 3 song sequence on an MG album since Mildred-Zero Orchestra-Non Populus and I'm going to be arguing with myself all year which of A Thousand Tons or The Heights is going to hit my Fave Songs of 2020 playlist at the end of the year, which I think is a good sign for the album's potential longevity in my life.

 

 

[Moonlight_Graham]

I have so much respect for Blake as a drummer.  He's just so darn good on this album, he's sick.  He's always amazing on everything he does.

[Stwlegend]

Enjoying the new album too, and as others mentioned, it needed additional listens to really grab me. I can see how some casual fans don’t jump on board for this album. There is a strong community here that will take in all MG work and really listen and process. But for most, there’s so much music hitting us everyday, people listen and move on right away if it doesn’t hit them immediately. I myself will always prefer the more “rocking” Matthew Good but I am a fan of him as an artist no matter the style, so this album is still one I hold in high regard. 

[daniel_v]

On 3/6/2020 at 10:40 PM, Moonlight_Graham said:

I have so much respect for Blake as a drummer.  He's just so darn good on this album, he's sick.  He's always amazing on everything he does.

Agreed, Blake is a fantastic drummer. Not only is he utterly proficient and able to elevate songs to a higher level on the stage (see the bridge of Load Me Up here ) but you can also tell that he really enjoys playing the music. When ever he's on stage you can tell by his facial expressions that he's really into what he's playing, a lot. He even sings along even when he's not doing backing vocals (which he's really frickin good at). Love that guy's work all around.

[Sly Botts]

My opinion hasn't changed.  It's a nice sounding album with a few good gems.  Not my favourite of his solo work but still some good songs.  The album definitely starts out strong for me though (Tracks 1 through 6).

Thanks Matt.

[Guest Rhu8ar8Pi3]

On 2/23/2020 at 5:48 PM, mackie1023 said:

I think he was saying the rest of the album should have been more like those songs. 
 

I agree that everyone should give it more than just one run through. The album is complex, and it takes more than one listen to absorb. 
 

The world IS a strange place. 

It sure is. I went to the grocery store yesterday and all of the shelves were empty. I also saw two people wearing gas masks in the grocery store. I think they were wearing sunglasses too, because they didn't want to be recognized. It is very weird. I don't get it.

Edited March 16, 2020 by Rhu8ar8Pi3

[CMKJ]

I love this album

 

the lyrics for Sicily and Thousand Tons now seem prophetic 

[RickDalton]

On 3/20/2020 at 8:56 PM, CMKJ said:

I love this album

 

the lyrics for Sicily and Thousand Tons now seem prophetic 

Im really digging Beauty although its a little religious 

[MarketTomato]

After a month of listening I can safely say that I love this album, and am connecting with it on a level that perhaps goes deeper than the previous few albums. It feels really cohesive and tells a story lyrically that I can put myself into. Not to be cheesy, but if SLAS was like a storm, right now certainly feel like the storm itself with a combination of the virus, family death, cancer diagnoses etc, and this album has been a great companion in that regard. 

For better or worse, this album marks a time both heavy in my own life and heavy globally, and for that I will always remember it.

I should also mention that the mixing/production is fantastic. It's a great sounding album filled with quiet/contemplative songs not concerned with being overly dramatic/grandiose, and I really respect the consistency in direction.

Top songs: A Momentary Truth (I love the joyous explosion of sound right out of the dark-ish opening track), Sicily, Boobytrapped, Dreading It, A Thousand Tons, The Heights, Selling you My Heart, Thorn Bird, Parts

P.S. You know it's good when 9/15 tracks are the "top", and everything else is still integral to the album.

[OriginalSpecies]

I don't post much here... honestly, the past few albums didn't really do it for me. Don't get me wrong, there've certainly been a handful of songs on each record that I really love, but on the whole--his output just wasn't hitting me as hard as it used to. 

So I finally decided to give Moving Walls a go, and...

Wow.

Good knocked this out of the park, and it's the perfect album for me right now. I want to really go into detail, but school's got me burning the candle at both ends atm, so that'll have to wait for another day. But I just want to say that the record feels like a solar system, with every song having their own gravitational weight and atmosphere. Though MW initially seemed somewhat prolonged, I honestly can't say there's a tune I'd sacrifice for the sake of compression... it just really takes a lot out of me, but I enjoy the catharsis.

Edited April 1, 2020 by OriginalSpecies
late night grammar faux pas

[OriginalSpecies]

god i love this album. it's like aural sex

[Moonlight_Graham]

On 2/22/2020 at 1:45 PM, mfrg said:

I have, over the last few months, contemplated retiring. I have confronted what actors must endure with regards to type casting, and given my age and the fact that I can just make music at home for myself and my friends, it might be more fulfilling. I’m almost 50 and have zero interest in making consecutive Beautiful Midnights, etc. That was decades ago. And even those albums since, especially the last one, were written without facing any internal compulsion to change. And that’s on me. After Lights, I should have just kept going.

When I sat down and wrote Arrows it was just easy. I’d seen the dissatisfaction on the faces of concert goers on the Lights tour and knee jerked. It’s something I should never have done. The same is true of Chaotic Neutral which should have sustained the vibe of Harridan, Tiger, Cold Water, Los Alamos, etc, without the interjection of “rock songs”. Again, that’s on me.

At some point you’ve got to look at yourself and make a decision. The knee jerk reactions that occur given significant successes decades ago cannot be the present. In fact, in many cases, they should never have remained in your subconscious and turned you away from going somewhere else.

In the end, given music today, all of this is basically pointless. Artistry has no worth. For a monthly fee on a streaming service you can listen to whatever you want. Ask a plumber to work for $8.99 a month and they’d laugh at you. Reading comments complaining about ticket prices is also rather hilarious when you think that people pay over $100 to see a stadium show sitting in the nose bleeds.

It’s all relative, and to me all very perplexing and disheartening.

Professional artists create art, but also operate like any business-person.  Music is sold as a product to customers (fans) for profit.  Profit is price minus cost.  Price is determined by supply & demand, which has changed a lot in the last 20 years in music obviously, with supply flooded with cheap or free music.

Business is darwinism:  Adapt or die.  You can be Blockbuster, or Netflix.

It's also true that people often get out of something what they put into it.  You've been fortunate to have a strong enough following to keep your business afloat the last 25 years without changing the formula much:  write, record, release, tour, & repeat every 2 years, + throw in some social media posts. There's been changes in the content of the main product (music), but it's been the same producer (Warne), less social media presence (marketing) over time to connect with customers (fans), similar merch forumla etc.  Maybe it's time to energize things beyond just music content, i'd start on social media including Youtube, since it's free marketing.  I remember people really loved "Garage Wine" lol.

Business also has a motto:  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.  Big changes in touring & your music is financial risk, and risks need to be smart.  Much less risk if changes come outside things that cost a lot of money, which is why I suggest change in social media etc.  ie: Start your own weekly Youtube show, create contests, or whatever, it could be a lot of fun for you & fans with little risk.  Lots of entertainment options out there now, musicians need to "cut through the mix".  I'd say embrace the business side with the same creativity as your music.

I think a lot of your product has become you and your personal stories and how it connects with fans.  I don't think Hospital Music had such a strong debut because it was your best music, but because of your story around that time, how much you shared with fans, and how everyone emotionally connected with you & that album.  You sell music, but you also sell things like hope & belonging.  What a wonderful job to have!

Edited April 20, 2020 by Moonlight_Graham