Foundation Sounds – Eric Matthews

In the liner notes to 2006's Foundation Sounds, Eric Matthews explains his career strategy as he had planned it prior to the release of his solo debut, 1995's It's Heavy in Here. Over the course of 40 albums, he would gradually strip all traditional pop instrumentation from his productions, proceeding from a full synthesis of pop and classical to an approach that was wholly classical. Like Sufjan Stevens' 50-states project, time was against him from the beginning, and although his second album followed less than two years later, it wasn't until 2005 that another release escaped -- and that a mini-LP. Like that release, Matthews' fourth LP refines his talents for production and songwriting, but it doesn't show him growing as a vocalist. The album is not only self-produced, but the work of a one-man band, with Matthews handling the traditional guitar-bass-drums setup plus piano, and occasionally, woodwinds and brass. (In the notes, he calls it "the purest Eric Matthews statement yet.") Very little has changed in his world -- his songs are beautifully crafted and subtly moving (the deeper chords usually proceeding at a stately pace), and Foundation Sounds is undeniably the work of an arranging and songwriting artisan. Unfortunately, it's clear from Matthews' vocals that too little has changed; although his voice is just right for this material, he repeats ideas from his previous records so often and so unerringly that listeners can't help but confuse these songs with many others. (There's a moment in the sixth track, "Survive," where Matthews echoes himself -- "the same, the say-hayame," then repeats it for good measure -- that has probably appeared in similar fashion on a dozen other songs of his.) Perhaps his classical training gives him the impression that great music needs only small improvements to reach a state of perfect performance, but the world of pop music is so fleeting that he has to move forward occasionally. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide