New Eric Matthews, Cardinal re-release

Joe Perry: Let the Music Do The Talking
Jason Falker: Afraid Himself to Be

ok, that's all I've got right now.

Matthews's significant talent is as a background singer (in his project with Richard Davies, Cardinal, he was not the main singer or songwriter). He ought to hire his voice out for sessions and commercials. As the centerpiece of an album, it eventually makes you want to throw the CD out the window, as I have just done.
–Stephin Merritt

haha.

I've been trying to find the transcription to little avail, but there was an interview (maybe more than one) he did in the late nineties which was such chauvinistic bullshit I was rather surprised to find it out it was not a joke.

xpost -- Wow. For the first time I think I truly love Merritt.

Or maybe someone bought one of the hundreds of copies of "It's Heavy in Here" from the dollar bins so he wants to restock?

If anyone finds one of these interviews online, please link. I never read any of that stuff.

I mean, look at this fucking guy.

"I hate homos."

Here is a passing reference from a Richard Davies article, 1998

While Matthews appears to have the insular perspective of a right-wing nut (in a recent interview he blamed gays and feminists for the downfall of society), Davies' wandering ways have given him the viewpoint of a modern-day migrant.

http://www.eye.net/eye/issue/issue_04.09.98/music/davies.html

I'm sure I can find more, but the vast Eric Matthews archives can be a little hard to find...

And as for Davies in general, I think Telegraph was his best solo record (out of Instinct, Crowd, Telegraph, Barbarians.)

And lastly: count me in as another who assumed Matthews was stone cold gay! This is a big shock to me!

So, was the rest 'too much of the same'?

And is Tanya Headon actually Stephin Merritt?

i don't think eric is really homophobic or sexist, i think there was a period when you was smoking too much pot and he lost his mind and talked a load of stupid bullshit. i mean it destroyed his career for a decade anyway, so he got his.

i vaguely know him; he hates GWB and the neo-cons as much as anyone. ned, is it really relevant to the music anyway? you do come across as a little... machine-like, every time he's mentioned it's the same comment from you. why don't we see you doing this on ted nugent threads?

the cardinal record is beautiful, the solo albums less so, but there are great moments on both of them. i'm excited about the new one.

Pretty much. Well...
I can only speak for "It's Heavy in Here" (which I also still have on LP, purchased because of the Cardinal LP), but besides "Fanfare" there aren't really any memorable songs.
One called "Soul Nation Select Them" had an ok melody IIRC but is ruined some truly horrid lyrics.
e.g.:
show me the difference
between grief and stone
there's none to show, so let's go
and cry another ice cream
if nothing's what you choose to believe in
you've chosen your demon

I mean, ewwwwww. And THAT is the only song besides "Fanfare" I can remember at all without throwing this piece of shit on the turntable.

I'm very fond of the two Matthews LPs (but more so of the Cardinal debut and Davies' Telegraph) so I'm kinda looking forward to this. People I know who've had personal dealings with him have come to very different conclusions - he was a bit snotty with one, and very friendly and helpful with another. Maybe it was the nature of the approaches.

EM's rep as the most reactionary git in chamber-pop was possibly well-deserved but maybe someone had a quiet word, y'know?

i have an eric matthews comb that says 'sub pop: grooming the stars of tomorrow'

*coughs, quotes something I said earlier*:

Not that many musicians I liked haven't been (assholes) either

If this is too subtle, I would be more than happy to beat you about the head gently with a disquisition on the nature of quality of music vs. personal attitudes.

meanwhile i'll pass on the offer of a beating round the head, especially if the weapon in question is a lengthy disquisition on something so banal.

I'm more amused by the fact that you seem to know more about my distaste for Matthews than I do! It's good to have a fan who likes me despite my horrible ways. ;-)

ned PWNED!

Hardly.

ned, sorry if you feel weirdly scrutinised, but your name comes up with identikit posts after every mention of eric matthews in the search engine. signal to noise ratio, dude!

The new disc is disappointing, in any case. If you sign up for an eMusic trial (www.emusic.com), you can download the whole album for free.

Anybody heard his new elpee "The Imagination Stage"...heard snips off itunes...sounds great...

aren't they doing another cardinal record? davies has been horrible for the past decade, i am not excited.

all i need is my copy of 'untune the sky' and i have all the davies i'm likely to need for the forseeable

it's a new matthews, not davies

i don't need any matthews at all

cardinal was mainly davies' song, i wonder if the new one would be mainly matthews' songs?

All you alls. I know Eric and this thread is freaking funny. Eric has no hate or fear for gays or anybody. We have a mutual friend who is dying of AIDS and I happen to know that it has touched Eric just like it would touch anybody with a human heart.

Eric likes to kid around a lot and never holds his tongue but come on, this guy is a serious songwriter in the modern world. He doesn't hate anyone.

And wow, gay! missed that one (some of you), this guy ain't gay. Believe me, I have seen him in action. That was a long time ago but he has always been all about “the ladies”. He has been married to an amazing lady for 13 years, at least. What a strange place this blog is. I mean really, you people can look at a photo and call a guy gay! That is some serious gaydar you got working there. I think it might be a hate crime actually.
And by the standards applied I guess all good looking guys with nice hair must be queer.

And yeah, the new record is amazing. I am not saying that because I know him. He doesn't know I am here and won't see this. He isn't an internet guy. Maybe he is stuck in the 50's now that I think about it.

you probably won't want to look at any of the threads on this strange blog

you've seen him in action? through a peephole?

He's a ruckus for the ladies

New Cardinal!:
http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/cardinal/hymns/

I'm pretty sure this was going to include the four tracks that leaked a while ago, all of which made me happy. "Kal" which has already come out at least once that I know, is pretty great. "Love Like Rain" was what I wanted the Robert Pollard collaboration to sound like. Will definitely be getting this...

'love like rain' is not good. will this one be more of an eric matthews affair? he hasn't fallen as far as richard davies has.

you can listen to those 30 sec clips on amazon.
i did - of course hard to tell from just that, but i can't help myself:
not mind blowing of course it won't be...
probably get it anyways.

I'd say "Kal" is about as good as anything this side of the Moles. Really like "Love Like Rain" so sad to see it unloved. Personally I rate Moles *way* over Cardinal, so not really interested in the Matthews side of things, but that's me.

yeah obviously richard davies is miles ahead of eric matthews, or at least he was, but he hasn't done anything interesting in 15 years so another record like his last few is not to be anticipated is it?

It's out. I like it ok and the last track is pretty cool. Always have to wait with Davies to see how things shake out. They fucked with the tracks that leaked, and not for the better. I like earlier Kal much better. Less reverb, harder edged, vocals more up front. New version is still ok. Some people may like the new one more, depending on what Davies they like best...

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3495149/04%20Kal.mp3 [older version]

Still think Love Like Rain is pretty great Davies doing GbV.

the cardinal/moles guy is playing here solo. might go. should i? the ever lovable bob fay is opening up so that's nice. and happy jawbone family band which is always fun for the whole family. we'll see...

Cardinal Spring Tour:

05.10 • Plough & Stars (Boston, MA)
05.11 • Littlefields (Brooklyn, NY)
05.12 • The Flywheel (Easthampton, MA)
05.13 • The Rotunda (Philadelphia, PA)
05.14 • Strange Matter (Richmond, VA)
05.15 • The Velvet Lounge (Washington, DC)

In the tradition set before them by many studio greats, Matthews will not be a part of the live equation. "It's hard for me to contemplate a live version that doesn't involve eight of me running around playing multiple instruments," he admits. "Even then, playing live has never really been something that interests me in the way that it does Richard. So, while I will look forward to our intense creative partnership continuing on the recording side, I support the decision to play these songs for our fans, even if I won't be there on stage to do so."

I don't know what Davies is like live

And not too many others here must know either

i just saw him in March. he was... ok. very affable, and charmingly self-deprecating. his young back-up band was very underwhelming / under-rehearsed. they played several songs from the new Cardinal lp, but they were very different--straight guitars/bass/drums.

i saw him do a solo set opening for Tobin Sprout in 2000 which was fanstastic. just him and an acoustic guitar; did an early version of 'Kal'. kinda makes me wish he'd stick to that format. nonetheless he's an oddly compelling talent.

I saw him years ago, I think after Telegraph. Then, his band was pretty tight, but I wouldn't say it was a mind-blowing show. I don't see him as the kind of person who puts on mind-blowing shows, though I've always wished that video of the Moles might surface, because it seems like they might have been mind-blowing but I'm not sure.

I saw Davies in NYC in '98 - notable for being the night I first met Gail O'Hara and for being briefly introduced to another pop hero of mine, Kurt Ralske. I don't recall much about the show...I think I was ill...

huh i guess the book was out on this guy a long time ago, i saw him comment on an ilx adjacent person's facebook thread and click on his profile wow he's really got a brain full of right wing conspiracy worms

Yeah, pretty much was exactly that! I feel happy to have mostly ignored him, though I had the Cardinal album at some point I think.

I remember having one of his Sub Pop albums on CD and enjoying it, kind of chamber pop thing Zombies type deal iirc but it's been in a box for years

but yeah like he's faaaar gone wow

I read quite a few posts itt before realising it was a revive - "maybe that's why he feels it is time to make an appearance again, the political climate should make him more popular this time around" as plausible a sentiment for right wing fuckers in 2024 as 2005.

Wow, what an absolute jackass. And to think I sorta liked his music. I even posted a comment on his website many many years, a question about something, why didn't he do this or try that (I honestly forget what my interest was) and his reply was "I'm happy on my own island so I never learned how to swim" which makes a bit of sense now seeing his isolationist worldview.

many many years *ago*

I think he blocked me on FB as I can't find his profile there anymore, I must have argued with him at some point

I pondered reviving this thread a couple of years ago when I first heard It's Heavy in Here. Some beautiful melodies, not all of them sung; but he has a dispassionate-to-blank vocal style, and cryptic lyrics (though a couple of them hint at moral condemnations that perhaps indicate his conservative outlook).

I remember reading an interview with him in The Big Takeover where he bragged about not having a single MIDI cable in his home studio, such goofy shit.

I guess at the end of the day it's not a huge surprise a musician that fetishizes vintage recording equipment while eschewing modern technology might possess political views that are, shall we say, less than progressive.

I don't think that means anything actually

Oh, of course it doesn't. Then again, I can't say I'm surprised.