As another cold January stretches before us, we have time to stop and reassess. During these moments of contemplation, a soothing soundtrack is needed. This is where the music of MXLX comes in.
In two years Matt Loveridge has released over twenty albums/EP’s, spilt over different aliases Klad Hest, Fairhorns, Gnar Hest, Knife Liibrary, Speed the Plough, Matt Williams and now MXLX, as well as being a member of BEAK>. Not bad going, his latest album, Go Away, released through the excellent French label Valeur d’usage Records, is a lo-fi ambient acoustic affair (Loveridge calls the music Autistic Blues).
This is a fair description as his music is abstract and sketch like in places, some tracks consisting of nothing more than beautiful chord progressions, laced with a misty drone. In Loveridge’s own words this was born of “Combination of misery and poverty and having nothing else to do brought this record on”, an apt description, but there is beauty here too.
I Am Not a Functional Human Being opens with a simple riff, layered with rhythmic strumming, as the track progresses the strumming gets faster, lyrics kick in and finger picking is introduced, which adds to the tension as the the feeling of alienation grows, this might be evocative music but it isn’t depressing, indeed it’s rather upbeat in places. The Hate (Continues) seems simple enough, on the surface it’s just guitar and some humming, but the complexity of the playing and the rich sound envelopes you, and draws you into its world.
MXLX is a similar artist in style to the likes of Jackamo Brown and Lupen Crook. They are not content in sugar coat everything like their pap-chart peers. They show you a mirror to the world where everything isn’t rosy, but it’s life affirming too. They populate their tracks with the ‘other side’ of society, the loners, drifters, people who have experienced mental illness, and show that there is beauty in them too. At this time of year, this is an album you can’t afford to miss out on.
[Rating:4]
