Matty Groves has reimagined 70s psychedelia with a modern twist on his new debut album, ‘Aurelia’.
Drawing on everyone from Nick Drake to Vashti Bunyan, the 12-track album is interwoven with dreamy textures and rich instrumentation, with the sporadic assist of enchanting vocalist Charlotte Rankin and formidable saxophonist Alex Flaskas.
‘Aurelia’ opens with the atmospheric synths and tinkling keys of ‘Overture’, a deeply reflective track that flits between blissful ambience and discordant guitar melodies.
There’s a cinematic quality to the track, as though it could soundtrack the opening of a sci-fi or even a spaghetti Western film, but Groves isn’t confined to any one sound.
Later, he introduces rustic acoustic guitar strums and screechy electric riffs, making the opener something of an enigma in terms of genre.
That spirit of versatility continues on ‘Rain’, a track that fittingly feels like a drizzly autumn afternoon.
Atop stripped-back guitars, Groves and Rankin deliver harmonies so angelic and airy they might just reach the heavens, with ‘Rain’ offering what might be the closest thing to sonic bliss.
The beauty of Groves’ work is its dynamism, with any given moment of a track brimming with ear-catching flairs.
‘La Luna’ flows like a lullaby with its part haunting, part beautiful horn sections and jewellery box-like guitar strings. It’s the music equivalent of a fairytale, adorned in blissful vocal harmonies and twinkly keys.
Elsewhere, ‘Children of the Wilderness’ coasts on gospel-like riffs and whirring synths, somehow feeling both dreamy and darkly nightmarish in equal measure.
It’s a testament to Groves’ artistry that he can evoke such feelings largely through instrumentals alone, since the vocal performances often merely complement the lushness of the production.
Taking the title as more of an instruction, ‘Dancing Through Space’ offers celestial ambience and spellbinding harmonies for a journey through the cosmos, before ‘Magical Speckled Beans’ delivers pure meditation with seemingly improvised guitar strums and moments of near-silence.
Later, on ‘Disillusion’, Groves dips into what feels like a psychedelic R&b cut, with sauntering rhythms and brooding vocals.
Echoed harmonies and regal brass section afford the track a seductive quality, again showcasing Groves’ chameleonic artistry.
His efforts culminate on ‘Emit Fo Sdnah Eht Dniwnu’, a glitchy, rewinding album closer that seems to offer something of a sonic palette cleanser of the tracks that came before.
What all of it amounts to is a deeply engrossing body of work that spotlights Matty Groves’ singular talent, made all the more impressive by the fact that it’s his debut.
Get familiar with the musician with the new album ‘Aurelia’ below.
