Matte Black Premiere Tracks From New Albums Portrait and Landscape
Posted in audiObelisk, Reviews on March 31st, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Brooklyn-based semi-industrial, post-punk-informed heavy goth rockers Matte Black were last heard from with the dark-grey hued fuzz of Psyche in 2019, their third full-length continuing a progression that sees them mark a decade in 2023 since their first offering, Lowlands. On May 5, and subsequently on June 2, the band will offer two follow-ups in their fourth and fifth records, titled Portrait and Landscape, respectively.
Their lineup has been pared down at least for these releases to guitarist, bassist, vocalist, keyboardist, thereminist, etc.-ist Matthew McAlpin and drummer Fidel Vazquez — both also of Matte Black‘s psych-tinged sister band Dead Satellites — but the music remains expansive, even though Portrait‘s 10 songs only run 26 minutes and Landscape‘s 12-song/48-minute stretch is comprised of often-minimal works on piano titled in Roman numerals “I” through “XII,” some of which, like the 5:27 “V” — longer than anything on Portrait, and not the longest on Landscape as the subsequent “VI” tops six minutes — get so quiet as to barely be audible. But they are both full-lengths, despite Portrait‘s brevity, and are obviously intended as complementary releases. I haven’t tried playing them at the same time to see if they synch up anywhere, but with shades of Badalamenti in Landscape‘s “X” and the second half of Portrait‘s “Pontifica” proving once and for all that Ministry was a punk band,
it’s worth remembering that we live in a universe of infinite possibilities.
Premiering below, “Mr. Whispers” is both opener and longest track (immediate points) on Portrait, and it begins with a roll that reminds distinctly of Elephant Tree‘s “Sails” after a quick buildup; a strident launch to a procession of songs most of which aren’t half as long, with a hint of bleak psychedelia in the keys later and a grounded hook of lyrical repetition — the album doesn’t make you wait long for the theremin, either — setting up a wide spectrum that only grows more expansive as “Obliterate” picks up with a riff transposed from desert rock to whisper-topped rain-glistening-on-sidewalk-at-night vibes, echoing melodic reach later over deep-mixed keyboard drama cutting off after two minutes because screw it what’s the point of anything anyway. “Deep Dive,” “The Game” and the goth-kids-dancing-in-space “Take the Hit” are similarly riff-based, but that base rests deep beneath despondent theatrics in the vocals and varies in its overarching degree of intensity, as demonstrated in the shout before the last shove and sample-topped crashes of “Pontifica” or the make-the-darkness-swing ethic of “Obliterate.”
At 1:33, “No Time” is the shortest piece on either record, with McAlpin working vocals over keys alone in brooding but not inactive fashion, coffee-and-cigarettes in mood but with the easy cool of its own urbanity behind it. It’s also not the last hint Portrait drops as regards the fare on Landscape, with the later serenity that builds to the mellow rocker verse of “Remains” ahead of the penultimate “At the End” drawing the line in guitar between goth and black metal and the concluding “I Love You” standalone piano in a clear moment of transition from one release to the next that’s nonetheless a fitting conclusion to the album on which it appears. Like much of Portrait, that finale begs closer examination, and in its expression it comes across as no less crucial than the crunch in the pairing of “Deep Dive” and “The Game” earlier on, particularly when one considers the aural thematic fleshed out in Landscape to come.
There are moments throughout the numbered proceedings that will inevitably take listeners to different places, whether it’s Beethoven‘s “Moonlight Sonata” on “I” or some of Anathema‘s later musings on the string-sound-inclusive “VI,” but the intention is immersion, and the sit-still-and-listen aspect of Landscape, the gentle piano strikes of “IV” and the soft wobble-drone behind “XI,” will present a challenge to brains perpetually on fire with a given day’s urgencies. It’s not so much a reminder to breathe — though maybe it’s that too — as a reminder to feel, and although there’s palpable longing in the sparse notes of “XII” or the evocative-of-realization “VII” (also premiering below), that comes paired with a kind of serenity as well. Maybe not peaceful, but accepting. Composed and played by McAlpin alone,
Landscape is entirely instrumental and feels somewhat experimental for that; certainly Psyche and the prior Halloween 2015 LP, Dust of This Planet had their ambience, the latter tapping Western spaces for its closer “Rio de las Animas Perdidas,” but the shift in focus, as an exploration of aural purpose, is distinct, however related it might otherwise be to Matte Black‘s general style.
One way or the other, Landscape lands a bit like the resonant echoes of Portrait, and taken in succession — which I acknowledge listeners won’t be able to do until both are actually released in their entirety, but, well, they’ll be ‘out’ for much longer than they’re ‘coming out,’ so I’ll argue relevance of the full front-to-back two-album cycle given their complementary nature — it’s that much easier to be subsumed in the piano and drone of “II,” the relaxing electronica of “III” marked with subtly foreboding low end swells, and the more purely tonal-dronal excursion that is “VIII” before the more sci-fi keyboard of “IX” reminds of just how seamless McAlpin makes the blending of organic and inorganic elements. Neither Landscape nor Portrait will be for everybody, and they’re not intended to be, but the atmospheric breadth cast in both is bound to grab willing ears, and the movement across Portrait — not manic or lacking poise, but quick nonetheless — and its contrast of not-actually-still-but-sounds-still in Landscape are emblematic of a band being willing to take chances outside of genre in a way not everyone is willing or able to do.
Keep an open mind as you listen to “Mr. Whispers” and “VII” below, and be patient in letting the material go where it does. It’s not the kind of thing I cover all the time, but neither is its value limited to the novelty of that. In any case, I’ve included the tracklistings for Portrait and Landscape below (with time stamps) and recording info, for clarity’s sake.
I hope you enjoy:
Matte Black, “Mr. Whispers” track premiere
Matte Black, “VII” track premiere
Portrait:
All songs written + performed by Matte Black
Tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9 recorded + mixed by Charles Burst at The Belvedere Inn in Stamford, NY
Track 5 recorded by Matthew McAlpin + mixed by Mitch Rackin
Track 8 recorded + mixed by Mitch Rackin at Deep Dive Recording in Brooklyn, NY
Track 10 recorded + mixed by Matthew McAlpin
Additional recording and production on tracks 3, 6, 9 by Mitch Rackin
Mastering by Mitch Rackin at Deep Dive Recording
Tracklisting:
1. Mr Whispers 04:59
2. Obliterate 02:22
3. Deep Dive 01:59
4. The Game 02:49
5. No Time 01:33
6. Pontifica 02:24
7. Take the Hit 02:17
8. Remains 02:29
9. At the End 03:28
10. I Love You 01:35
Landscape:
All songs written + performed by Matte Black
Recorded, mixed, + produced by Matthew McAlpin at LXS
Mastering by Mitch Rackin at Deep Dive Recording
Tracklisting:
1. I 02:26
2. II 03:38
3. III 04:18
4. IV 04:15
5. V 05:26
6. VI 06:27
7. VII 03:47
8. VIII 03:57
9. IX 04:08
10. X 03:46
11. XI 04:01
12. XII 02:29
Matte Black:
Matthew McAlpin – Guitar, Piano, Synth, Bass, Theremin, Vocals
Fidel Vazquez – Drums
