Review - Scott Matthews at Telford's Warehouse, Chester

As silence descends, soft and haunting sounds begin to drift from the stage, echoes delicately produced by a glass slide on electric guitar strings, which usher us into an almost trance-like state.

Ahead of the release of his sixth album, Home Part 2, later this month, the award-winning singer-songwriter Scott Matthews has returned to Telford’s Warehouse in Chester to give us a spellbinding solo performance like no other.

As ever, it is truly remarkable how Scott’s voice seems to transform itself and resonate with the quality of a cello as he sings. The effortless fluidity of his vocal range and his graceful vibrato never fail to send shivers running up and down the spine.

Playing around with the songs we know so well is a habit of his, and, every time he begins, we never quite know which one will suddenly emerge from each meandering intro. As well as favourites like ‘City Headache’, ‘Eyes Wider than Before’, ‘Sunlight’, and ‘Virginia’, we’re treated to a handful of songs from his upcoming album and the first from his new label, Shedio Records – created by Scott himself.

With greater creative freedom than ever before, he has been able to put together a piece of work that meaningfully reflects on his evolution as an artist.

“Sonically, I wanted to create a very broad canvas this time around,” he reveals. “Home Part 2 bears similarities to my debut album, Passing Stranger, in the sense that there has been a desire to return to the roots where my musical seeds were planted. Almost like a need to rekindle a relationship with the artist I was ten years ago, but joining forces with the artist I am today.”

Local folk trio, Mountainface (Sam Rowlands Photography) 

Scott will be heading on the road with his band, immediately after his solo tour, to play at venues across the UK before heading to tour in Europe. Also promised later this year is a special edition LP of Passing Stranger to mark the anniversary of its release ten years ago. 2016 has proven to be an exciting and busy year for the artist, something which his dedicated fan base is no doubt thankful for.  

Supporting Scott before his Telford’s gig were the boys from local folk trio, Mountainface, featuring the particularly skilled mandolin playing from Matthew Youds,  rhythm guitar and reedlike lead vocals from David Weir, and lead guitar and backing vocals from Tom Winch. The group’s passion for their music is clearly visible as they perform, and marries with their undeniable energy.

Scott Matthews’s single, ‘The Lantern Flower’, is available now; His album, Home part 2, is released 19^th September, 2016 and is available for pre-order here (including a free download of new single 'Drifter')

To find out more about Scott, visit scottmatthews.uk

MUSIC: SCOTT MATTHEWS ~ Chester Gig REVIEW

Scott Matthews Performance,23/04/13:
What the Night Delivered

(Above image courtesy of www.glee.co.uk)

This is the third time I have been irrestibly drawn to watch the Ivor Novello Award-winning acoustic folk artist perform live now, and I would do so a thousand times more for such an incredible talent.  Scott’s desperately beautiful songs are nothing less than bewitching: his fingers dance effortlessly over the strings and a voice floats suddenly toward you as if from a dream, holding the thronged audience of Telford’s Warehouse, Chester, in hushed awe.

What I find most striking about Scott’s performances is that if you were to close your eyes, you could be forgiven for thinking you were actually listening to hymns being sung to you by some unearthly cello and not a man, so distinctly like the sound of swelling strings is the tone of his voice.

 He is taking this tour, he explains, to get the songs out of his system and learn their personal meanings before recording them in the coming months for what will be his fourth album after Passing Stranger, Elsewhere, and What the Night Delivers.

            Afterwards, he seems genuinely humbled and grateful that people appreciate his work, and is eager to make to time to chat warmly with his fans, without rushing.

Scott’s talent puts to shame the likes of artists such as Damien Rice and recent flavour of the month Ed Sheeran, and though he has a large following and is very much a respected “musician’s musician”, quite why his household acclaim isn’t greater than it is at present is utterly baffling.  Regardless, Scott’s fourth album will hopefully be released at some point later this year, and I simply cannot wait.

To listen to Scott Matthews:
https://soundcloud.com/#scott-matthews-music

To find out more about Scott and his upcoming tour dates:
http://scottmatthewsmusic.co.uk/