Matthew E. White: Big Inner

“Take it easy, baby, tonight”

This week, I decided back into Matthew E. White’s debut album Big Inner, initially released in August 2012 on his own Spacebomb Records (then released worldwide in January 2013 by Domino) after winning tickets to his upcoming Parisian performance next week at La Cigale. After just a few minutes, it is obvious why the album received as much praise as it has, from the New York Times to Paste magazine or The Guardian. Throughout the LP, White’s unassuming sound lays down a sharp and distinctive tone that transports us to a gentler world.

White’s background is jazz (he names trumpeter Steve Bernstein as his mentor), yet his music is deeply rooted in Americana. Opener “One Of These Days” oscillates between the softness of folk and the sensuality of soul. Just like his cuddly hippie-bear demeanor, with his long hair and scruffy yet fluffy beard, his smooth, round voice is comforting and inviting but his use of brass and deep bass lines give the whole an extra sultry kick. His mastery of bass arrangements comes most strongly in stand-out track “Big Love,” where the dizzying bass bounces off the drums perfectly and the piano riff acts a second fiddle to White’s singing.

“Hot Toddies”’ swirling strings and lyrics of fire’s warm embraces starts us off imagining we’re all wrapped in lush, comfy blankets on a white winter night, only to have us shedding our long johns for a midnight shamanic dance in front of the fireplace halfway through. Later on, the bouncy, ragtime vibe of “Steady Pace” takes us to the beginning of the 20th century’s silent movie theaters.

But the red thread of this album has to be its ties to the American South and gospel music, which would seem inevitable coming from the Virginia-born son of missionaries. In “Gone Away,” the full range of emotion White’s deceivingly shaky voice carries is revealed, further accentuated by the lead guitar’s wailing bluesy tones. Closer “Brazos” takes that influence even further in its glorious 10-minute chant, as if to definitely seal our spiritual conversion to White’s music.

Matthew E. White might be a beginner as a solo artist and a first-time singer-songwriter but his craft is well-honed and I am now even more excited to see how it translates live.