What is it that we ask of music?

Some weeks ago, I wrote a review for Matthew Lee Cothran’s newest solo release.

As I was writing, as I tried to distill the experience of listening to the record, I found myself listening. I mean really listening. I attempted to discern why one track or another drew my attention, or why it evoked a warm, welcome melancholy inside of me. I kept getting distracted, however, by the music itself. It would pull me in and not let me think about it in the moment. I was sort of forced to experience it.

It’s muddled, it’s soft-spoken, it’s sometimes kind of sad. It’s also essentially pop.

Here’s a snippet:

My First Love, instead, revels in a watery blend of feedback, echoes, and reverb, through which Cothran channels most of what makes his other projects so compelling: an immediately downcast demeanor under which lurks a musician whose practice at this point is so well-refined, that the bittersweet melody of, for example, “Purple Mountain,” could very well have been exploited in the interest of a more accessible project. 

If you’re interested in reading the full review, check it out here. Drop a comment below with your thoughts or impressions.