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27th March, 2022
Matthew has a groovy band and that is the highlight of the evening in Leeds, as this singer-songwriter-producer translates his work to the stage. White’s last album is very much a studio creation – excellently produced into a complex set of pop-soul that sets feet tapping. Heavily seventies-influenced, there are trainspotter references to look out for. Live, however, Matthew has the issue of stage-presence to deal with. Laid-back and affable enough, the crowd are more than willing to make allowances (they wouldn’t be there if they didn’t know his music) but the evening is a shadow of the albums and the live jolt is missing.
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Matthew E White is a tall figure who, stoops slightly in an almost apologetic way. His quiet manner in a nondescript black hoodie underplays what he is doing. Hidden behind long black hair, a big black beard and a baseball hat, he appears to be dripping out lyrics in an off-the-cuff way without acknowledging he is the lynch pin of the operation; the man who made the music; the man who structured the songs; the man responsible for the groove that has half of the thin crowd dancing. Yet his presence is understated and almost fails to register; neither presenting the lyrics clearly nor upping the emotional temperature. It felt as if he didn’t feel he had to do anything to win attention.
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I look to see a different take on the music or an extra spark when I go to a gig but tonight was at best, a cover version of half the new album and half older material. After the slower ‘Nested’, the groovy band picked up with the irrepressible piano-rocker, ‘Judy’, and stayed pretty groovy through to the end, bar one number introduced as a ‘slow dance’. The epic ‘This is America’ was skipped, which, is probably wise – it is a bit of a mood killer. The guitarist can kick up a good squall when he wants and smiled to himself. The keyboardist kept the momentum up on his Nord and Wurlitzer, alongside the drum fills.
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Over an hour or so we had most of the new album and a few older numbers and it was time to say goodnight with a couple of old favourites. It hadn’t been overwhelming but it was pleasant. I do recommend picking up K-Bay, release from last year, where the production on the songs is very nice indeed and the collaborative release that came before it (Broken Mirror) for its imagination.