Matthew Fischer is known to many in Bangkok as the restaurateur extraordinaire behind Fatty’s, as well as the self-deprecating frontman for local band Matthew Fischer and the Fishes. However, our eponymous hero is also an accomplished solo musician in his own right, as any who saw him support Eef Barzelay last year could attest. Matthew Fischer’s debut solo LP “Hangman” was, in the words of one scribe: “a rough, raw work of honest acoustic Americana, both wistful and heart-felt”. What then of his sophomore effort “Radio Sound”, released this month by Panda Records?
The great news is that the added Thai indie hook-ups have really enhanced Matthew Fischer’s original folk visions and not overwhelmed them; perhaps no surprise for anyone familiar with Panda boss Wannarit Pongprayoon’s My Post Life acoustic side project. There’s lushness here; a sense of purpose and concept best exemplified by the found sounds that split the music into four distinct chapters. It’s a workbook of, and for, life – acoustic, mellow and reflective sounds for an electric city screaming head-long into an unknowable future.
My favourite tracks, in rough LP order:
“Radio Sound” is released by Panda Records on March 10th, 2016. Join the party here.
The great news is that the added Thai indie hook-ups have really enhanced Matthew Fischer’s original folk visions and not overwhelmed them; perhaps no surprise for anyone familiar with Panda boss Wannarit Pongprayoon’s My Post Life acoustic side project. There’s lushness here; a sense of purpose and concept best exemplified by the found sounds that split the music into four distinct chapters. It’s a workbook of, and for, life – acoustic, mellow and reflective sounds for an electric city screaming head-long into an unknowable future.
My favourite tracks, in rough LP order:
- Radio Sound - First song out of the blocks sounds like a misty-eyed paean to nostalgic melancholia. Check out the video by Gary Boyle!
- Calling You – Mellow acoustic ballad about shared plans gone wrong…
- Love Myself – Indonesian voices from the abyss lead into an epic tale of redemption versus death, accompanied by killer mouth-harp.
- Bad Things – Meandering tale of endless frustration lends itself easily for my pick as the stand-out album track.
- The Way Things Are – Fatalistic charmer of a song accompanied by glorious vocal harmonies.
- Up in Wisconsin – Closing number is a foot-stomping barn-stormer familiar to anyone lucky enough to see Matthew (and the Fishes) live.
“Radio Sound” is released by Panda Records on March 10th, 2016. Join the party here.