Matt Pearce & The Mutiny, The Soul Food Store – Review
by Constance Tucker
Matt Pearce is a London-based, Glasgow-born guitarist and vocalist. Matt is an original member of the successful hard rock outfit Voodoo Six, with whom he has released five albums, including one recorded in L.A. at Steve Vai’s ‘Mothership Studios.’ The Soul Food Store is Pearce’s latest album and features 11-tracks of bluesy musical goodness. Pearce explains, “I wanted my album to be what my favourite music is to me: somewhere to go to be happy, laugh, sing, dance, forget all my troubles, or be comforted despite them. These 11 songs run the gamut of my musical influences: if ‘Gotta Get Home’ was a statement of intent — that bluesy rock could be funky — then this album is about me being at home, with all the music I love. So, as well as the funk and the rockin’ blues, there’s some soul, and ballads, and psychedelic, and maybe even a little disco vibe creepin’ in… All the sounds that put a smile on my face and that I hope will do the same to you.”
“Got a Thing Going on” opens with a hip guitar riff that kicks things into overdrive. Pearce’s vocals match the grit of the guitar as the catchy melody unfolds into our auditory receptors. With male and female backing vocals for the chorus, the song builds and expands as it traverses the time continuum. Steve Beighton keeps the energy up with his saxophone solo, as does Pearce, with his singing guitar tone and bluesy licks.
Beighton also opens the rockin’ shuffle “From Here to the Moon.” His saxophone sets the tone and energy for the band and Pearce’s rock-blues vocals. The horns add soulfulness to the buzzes around the song with pads, hits, and accents. This is fun music, made and meant to make you feel good.
Pearce has a tasty treat waiting for you to dig into and enjoy with The Soul Food Store. Pearce sums it up best, “But to get back to The Soul Food Store: the whole point of this album is to combat the negativity that’s so easy to give in to these days, and like the old song, accentuate the positive! But always with a groove… As the last song on the album says, ‘Everybody should be king of their world every day.” Now that is some good vibes!
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