Matthew Good - "Black Helicopter" (2007)

Matthew Good is probably the biggest Canadian rock star you’ve never heard of. He came to fame in the late 90s when Matthew Good Band were climbing the Canadian charts with hits from their albums Underdogs and most notably Beautiful Midnight, which was the only MGB album to see a U.S. release. Unfortunately Matthew Good never caught on in the States, but I have a feeling that’s the way he wants it. He’s never seemed to enjoy the spotlight, always boycotting the Juno Awards (the Canadian Grammys) despite the fact that his albums are almost always nominated for something. When MGB broke up in 2001 after the release of their last album The Audio of Being, Good kept writing music and his first solo album, 2003’s Avalanche came into being. I still contend that Avalanche is his best album, solo or otherwise. It just showcases his songwriting talent so well. Since he wasn’t constrained to make another record that sounded like MGB, he could really spread his wings and create songs the way he wanted to. Avalanche employed everything from a full orchestra to electronic loops and everything in between, giving each song a depth that Good hadn’t achieved before. He followed up with White Light Rock & Roll Review in 2004. This was a decidedly more straightforward rock record, the bulk of which was recorded in one nine day session. Now Matthew Good has released his third solo full length entitled Hospital Music, and it is quite a gem. The title was born out Good’s recent diagnosis with bipolar disorder and a subsequent stint in the hospital. The songs on Hospital Music are Good’s most personal yet. A few (“Metal Airplanes,” “She’s In It for the Money”) deal with his recent divorce. The epic nine minute opener “Champions of Nothing” wouldn’t have been out of place on Avalanche with it’s several layers of instrumentation and liberal use of eerie vocal samples. Fans of WLRRR’s country tinged “Empty Road” will also love the first single “Born Losers” which marries a great guitar lick with the biggest chorus on the album. For me the standout track is today’s song “Black Helicopter.” It embodies everything that makes a great Matthew Good song: an excellent guitar line, a hint of strings, some of the aforementioned vocal samples, and Good’s unmistakable voice bringing us his own brand of cynicism. I am usually turned off when an artist inserts his or her political views into their work and tries to push a particular party or hatred of a party down the listener’s throat, but for some reason I let it slide with Matthew Good. Maybe I’m not turned off by Good because he doesn’t shove it down my throat, he just states his opinion and I can respect that. And when the music is this excellent, little else needs to be said.

Matthew Good - "Black Helicopter"