I just received the newest release, Shine On, from Matthew Curry and it's really solid. I reviewed Curry's first release, If I Don't Got You back in 2011 and this is a more polished followup showing a lot of growth as an artist.
Opening with Blink Of An Eye, Curry is back with a strong ballad and his soulful vocals. His expressive guitar riffs are more mature and his backing band is new. Matthew plays guitar and handles lead vocals with Tim Brickner on bass, Mark Masefield on keys, Francis Valentino on drums. A super radio melody and Matthew's vocal work, backed by Valentino and Alexis Saski on vocals, this track is square on. Very nice opener. With it's funky back beat, Caroline, catches you right at the get go. Brickner, Masefield and Valentino set a great stage for Curry's vocal lead and his stinging guitar riffs have great bite. Excellent! Title track, Shine On, is another radio track with huge commercial potential. I can't say enough about Curry's vocal acuity and the overall balance of the band. His guitar is restrained but not contained showing maturity and precision. Very nice. Electric Religion is a solid rocker with a heavy, lumbering bottom. Curry steps up top with some soaring guitar pyrotechnics pleasing even the toughest critics. Very cool. With a light airy, jazz rock feel, Matter of Time, is the "pop" est track on the release. Curry's soulful vocals anchor the track with skillful B3 work from Masefield and warm backing vocals. Wrapping the release is Draw The Line, a blues rocker with clean guitar soloing and cool B3 backing. Curry has put out a real nice release here and is definitely making a name for himself with John Mayer, Jonny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Check out this new release. It's quite good.
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