Mattiel “Satis Factory”

sfilzen — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 20:42:20 +0000

Mattiel “Satis Factory” 2019. ATO Records. “Nuclear green” vinyl. Indie garage rock with plenty of clever retro nods (rockabilly, Velvet Underground, 60’s Francopop, spaghetti westerns) via Atlanta. We saw Mattiel play last night at Cactus Club here in Milwaukee (kicking off concert season – yay!). The show was enjoyable and they played a mix of songs from Satis Factory, their second album, and material from their soon-to-be released record Georgia Gothic (due to be released March 18th). I really didn’t know what to expect so I was neither surprised nor disappointed that it was just singer Mattiel Brown and guitarist Jonah Swilley with the help of pre-programmed backtracks and a drum machine, their performance backdropped by a collage of weird movie clips. Mattiel is exotically gorgeous like Siouxsie Sioux with an icy yet somehow warm voice that is a blend of Siouxsie and Nico. Jonah Swilley played some great solos and totally rocked his all-red leather gear. We struck up a long conversation with a local Mattiel superfan at the bar before the show. He was planning to see them again tonight in Chicago. We chatted a bit after the concert and his comment was he was no longer heading down for the second show: he was disappointed that they didn’t have a full band and felt that their performance was lackluster. In fairness to Mattiel, they had just driven 8 or so hours from Cleveland and the crowd turn-out at Cactus wasn’t great.

(The lighting at Cactus Club sucked so my photos, even enhanced, kinda suck too.)

Satis Factory is definitely not lackluster. It’s a really excellent mix of garage-friendly styles and Mattiel’s voice keeps the record cohesive. My top track is for sure the slinky-grooved, VU-inspired “Populonia.” Also great are “Je Ne Me Connais Pas,” the rapid speak “Food For Thought,” the 60’s organ gone rollicking wild “Berlin Weekend” (the organ riff more than a nod to “California Sun” by The Rivieras) and the ass-shaking funky “Heck Fire.”

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JD McPherson “Undivided Heart & Soul”

sfilzen — Tue, 08 Feb 2022 18:18:34 +0000

JD McPherson “Undivided Heart & Soul” 2017. New West Records. McPherson’s third album was a big success for an indie release: it went to #130 on the regular Billboard album chart but hit #4 on the Indie Albums chart and, a bit inexplicably in my opinion, made it onto Rolling Stone‘s Top 40 Country Albums of 2017 at #33. It is not country unless one categorizes this record as simply “rockabilly” – which it is not. It definitely is retro and mixes a hearty dose of rockabilly into a mix that also includes soul (especially the crooners “Hunting for Sugar” and “Jubilee“), garagey-blues that sounds very Black Keys-ish (“Lucky Penny” would be right at home on their 2019 album Let’s Rock) and late 40’s/early 50’s rockin’ rhythm-and-blues (the excellent “Crying’s Just a Thing You Do“). There’s even a touch of early 2000’s indie pop (“On the Lips“), some trashy glam (“Style (Is a Losing Game)“) and, for lack of a better description, garage funk (the great title track “Undivided Heart & Soul” which is swinging and sexy). It’s a really great LP and its diversity is tied together by McPherson’s songwriting and feel for a solid rock-n-roll beat.

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Mattiel “Satis Factory”

JD McPherson “Undivided Heart & Soul”