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 Caught in the Carousel - Music Reviews and More
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Matt York
Mine
Rock Ridge Records
Of all the nice guy singer/songwriters—and that means everyone from David Wilcox to Jason Mraz—Canada's Matt York is one of the most interesting. Aside from being a skillful singer with one of the most instantly likable voices around, York is a young man whose sentimentality runs so deep, he's sentimental about things that haven't even happened yet. The follow-up to his critically acclaimed debut Under The Streetlights, York's Mine is a durable eleven-song collection of thoughtful folk rock that finds the singer/songwriter unabashedly leaning into nostalgia and coming up with a drop down menu of memories that are so crystal clear they could very well be your own. The acapella gospel-flavored opener "Death Came A Knockin'" is truly stirring; "Let Me Go" brings to mind Amos Lee and "Lucky Man" rolls along with an easy rock and sway. York's fascination with who we were, who we are, and who we're going to be comes with equal parts marvel and worry. For example, on "Give Me Love" he sings: "Little boys grow up big and tall/Laying pathways when they're small/Well, I'm not sure about the plan/But I'll try and be the best I can." On the album's finest track, "Those Days" York tells of a "boy and a girl/Walking the world," which is simple enough, but things get complicated when the former notices the girl is "humming a song about a boy in love with the moon." In other words, boys in songs get to stay young forever, though the boy's appearance in this one doesn't seem to ease his anxiety as he hopes not to end up being the kind of man who "ignored his heart." The singer's uneasiness with adult life, uncertainty of what a man might be called to do, and the fear that he'll somehow let down his younger self, make Mine one of the most thoughtful and emotionally direct albums in recent memory.
—Alex Green
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