Burning Blue Soul

For legal reasons, Johnson had to release this under his own name rather than as The The. Matt sticks to personal themes of young adult pain and sudden awareness, dressed up in highly uncommercial fashion, with help from Wire's Lewis and Gilbert. Matt's work thrives on the tension between accessible pop and dissonant experimentation; between joyful wonder and despairing bleakness. Challenging but unfailingly artistic, this is the debut most bedroom recording artists should produce, before pandering to the suits in the record industry. The general sound resembles the work of German experimentalists Can, especially on the highly percussive tracks. Other than Matt's plaintive lyrics/delivery, this album bears little resemblance to the more (relatively) accessible, pop-friendly sounds of Soul Mining, Infected, or Dusk. In spots, Matt's vocals are too far down in the mix, especially on "Song without an Ending."

But for all the unique textures, Matt's lyrics are already in full-flower here. In fact, they're not a whole lot different from those on The The's Soul Mining album that appeared two years later. "Bugle Boy" is a harsh electric strum (and nothing more) over which he segues from political observation into trying to figure out women. Closing track "Another Boy Drowning" is another wonderful, percussion-free melody that seems amazingly depressing, yet somehow invigorates. Elsewhere, the album is dotted with ambient instrumentals, reminiscent of some of the darker sounds from Another Green World. One of these bits steers right into a full-blown Eastern chant ("The River Flows East in Spring"). Burning Blue Soul is a valuable sketchbook for The The fans interested in dissecting the early inner workings of Johnson's art, but the meandering tape-collages that serve as a framework will leave most others cold.

Ripped from some scratchy old vinyl to pop friendly MP3 @ 320kbps

Matt Johnson; Burning Blue Soul

A1.  Red Cinders In The Sand

A2.  Song Without An Ending

A3.  Time [Again] For The Golden Sunset

A4.  Iceing Up

B1.  [Like A] Sun Rising Through My Garden

B2.  Out Of Control

B3.  Bugle Boy

B4.  Delirious

B5.  The River Flows East In Spring

B6.  Another Boy Drowning