Matthew Barber
The Story of Your Life
(Warner)
Matthew Barber knows how to write a pleasant pop song, but it appears he’s at his best when the sound is darker or the mood’s more melancholy. The Story of Your Life, the follow-up to his debut Means & Ends, starts out fine with “A Little Love,” but the backbeat of “Tilt-a-Whirl” and the slow, slinky build of “Landmine” kick the Ian McGettigan-produced EP into high gear. Give Barber a few things in his life to get depressed about and he just might write a full-length masterpiece.
—Chuck Teed
This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2007.
