In a daring, swooping new track, Matthew and Me have revealed their latest proejct “Joy.” The effort of Devon-based Matthew Board (vocals) and Lucy Fawcett (drums), it clocks in at a monster seven and a half minutes so there is a lot of content to take in.
Indeed “Joy” can be very dense at times because of this, but maintains an airy feeling with its relaxed instrumental backing, slurring drums and ever-changing vocals. The combination gives the song an almost ethereal mood, easy to be swept up in. As the minutes pass by it becomes easier to fall into a trance-like state, with its down-tempo elements. There are layers for the mind of the listener to delve into. The title of “Joy” isn’t exactly reminiscent of what you would expect the sound to be, simply making it that much more complicated.
Matthew and Me spent time recording under the guidance of producer Chris Bond and Beatnik Creative in the winter months of England, a fact that would make perfect sense in the context of “Joy.” It certainly fit in to a cold, rainy landscape as far as mood goes.
In this day and age, the notion of the ‘single’ has dramatically changed from what it used to be, but it’s still interesting to see the term applied to a song like “Joy.” A slow, long, evocative ballad wouldn’t come to anyone’s mind when thinking of a single, and yet we have Matthew and Me making that jump.
“Joy” sets the stage for their upcoming EP. With the antithetical name, packed-in substance and expressive sound, there’s no telling what the rest will sound like.