In his 2009 staple Seven Words, Matt Bonner does more than simply deliver smart original songwriting and skillful takes on rock, jazz, blues, and surreal pop; he establishes a sound that remains his own to this very day. There are times in this record in which it seems like Bonner had a crystal ball on hand when recording material like “Over the Edge,” “Shining City” and his rousing version of “Kashmir” in that his aesthetical combinations constantly force hybridity into the pot. There’s no limit to what he can say or do in this album other than the four walls of the studio alone.
URL: https://www.mattbonner.com/
The diverse influences Bonner has over his music are impossible for anyone to miss when listening to “Awake, Then,” “Not Everything” and “Version of You,” and I think that for all of the different elements included in this record, everything comes together rather seamlessly. His vocal style makes even the most complicated of narratives easy for him to explain through lyrics and melodies the same, and as much as I would love to hear all of these songs live, it’s hard to imagine them living up to the same heavenly quality the brilliant mastery of the mix affords them here.
“303” is a bit more deliberate where the title track and Bonner’s cover of “Kashmir” have more of a freeform feel, but even with the angularities that distinguish one style of execution from another in Seven Words, everything feels like it belongs together, being heard in a single sitting whenever possible. There’s a progressive hue that we can’t get away from, no matter how potent or lulling the tone of a performance happens to be here, and yet the theatrics of conventional concept pieces are nowhere to be found in this ten-song collection.
I really like the way Bonner spaces out his forcefulness in “Railway Line” and “Not Everything,” and I would even say that in tight arrangements like these, his making the music sound comforting rather than severe or adrenaline-backed is much more than a minor feat. The true beauty of Seven Words relates much less to the glow of its cosmetics than it does the depth of its substance – and particularly the magnetism its chief performer offers with every word he sings – which makes its long shelf life not only possible but rather difficult for anyone to replicate without possessing a similar talent.
APPLE MUSIC: https://music.apple.com/us/album/seven-words/319165969
Listeners can’t go wrong with the captivating works of Matt Bonner, but between his two major releases, I think Seven Words stands as his proudest moment and an album that set up a lot of future experimentalists with a good template, to say the least. Bonner doesn’t just rock out in this LP – he erupts like a long-dormant volcano ready to spread its molten heat to anyone and anything within reach, and though 2009 is starting to feel like a long time ago, there isn’t a shred of sound in Seven Words that feels even somewhat out of date.
Chadwick Easton