scale

herbert

k7, 2006

Mood—Happy, energetic, thoughtful.

Sample: "Harmonize"

Thoughts— This album is probably one of the best that I own. Utterly listenable. It maintains a heavy rotation in our car stereo, and has a permanent home on my iPod. Matthew Herbert simply knows how to put music together.

Herbert's music all has a touch of the cinematic; each song is full of rich instrumentation, swelling strings, and is crafted with non-traditional progressions. His work with Roisin Murphy on her album Ruby Blue is where I first heard his work, though I didn't know it at the time. I was clued in by the use of irregular pattenrs and everyday objects in his music. The album jacket has a picture of every single item used to create the album, from the 1/4" cables to the planes people flew on. Every horn, computer, mouse, and music stand. Among the unconventional "instruments" used on the album are rocks, birds, coffins, gas pumps, and cereal.

The songs are light-hearted fare, sometimes a bit silly but always perfectly rendered. There are no standouts in my mind, as the album itself stands out from the rest of my collection. If you don't know anything about Herbert, Scale is probably the best place to start.

Recommended? You really should get it right now.

Link—herbert-scale.com

Tracklist
1. Something Isn't Right
2. The Movers And The Shakers
3. Moving Lie A Train
4. Harmonise
5. We're In Love
6. Birds Of A Feather
7. Those Feelings
8. Down
9. Movie Star
10. Just Once
11. Wrong