Matthew Barber
Gig Seeker Pro

Matthew Barber

Toronto, Ontario, Canada | INDIE

Toronto, Ontario, Canada | INDIE
Band Folk Singer/Songwriter

Calendar

Music

Press


"No Depression"

Canadian singer-songwriter Matthew Barber's Ghost Notes was one of my favorite discs of 2009. I wasn't the only one to appreciate Matt's singing and songwriting. Ghost Notes was nominated for a Juno award as best “Roots & Traditional Album”. With True Believer (Outside Music) Barber stakes his claim as one of the best singer and songwriters working today: north or south of the border. You can check out several new tracks from True Believer and "Easily Bruised" from Ghost Notes on Matthew's MySpace page.

For 2010's True Believer Matthew has written and recorded ten mostly acoustic tracks on which he provides vocals, guitar, piano and percussion while producer Howie Beck adds drums and bass. Special guests including Dean Drouillard (electric guitar), Paul Mathew (upright bass), Jesse O'Brien (piano) and Matt's sister Jill Barber (vocals) flesh out the sound. His songs often deal with matters of the heart but in the grand folk tradition he isn't afraid to throw a song or two of social commentary into the mix. As good as the band is this is truly a singer-songwriter album. I caught Matthew Barber's solo set at "The Mill" in Carrboro, NC last spring and his clear voice, lyrical skills and acoustic guitar playing shine in an intimate small club setting. He played most of "Ghost Notes", a few older tracks of his I wasn't familiar and an unexpected cover of Buffalo Springfield's "Out Of My Mind". I went home and dug out my copy and rediscovered the song thanks to Matthew's cover!

Outstanding tracks from True Believer include:

"Feel My Love": a love song, a pop song, a lust song.

"Insanity or Death": bass and Graceland guitar (Simon's not Presley's) contrast perfectly with the dark questioning lyrics:
"I've been thinking about religion, I've been wondering where it went"
and
"I don't know if we know who we are anymore but we act like we do and that's why we're fighting wars."

"Lonesome Feeling": country-flavored tune complete with a slapping bass line that honors both Hank Williams and Presley. Matt rewrites and reworks the iconic line "I'm so lonesome _ ____ __ to "I'm so lonesome all the time".

"Hawks on the Highway": Matthew rocks an ode to cheap gas and the roadtrip. "Radio stations come and go" but there are "Hawks on the highway, doves in the ditch". The mythic road trip comes to its end.

Fans of the Everly Brothers, Josh Ritter and Leonard Cohen will dig both True Believer and Ghost Notes .
I'd honestly have a hard time recommending one of these excellent folk-rock discs over the other. - No Depression


"Herohill"

It’s rare that a self-titled LP fits the sound and scope of a project as well as it does for Matthew Barber’s latest record. After collaborating with the likes of Howie Beck and Hawksley Workman, the talented song writer opted to scale back his sound and take complete control of the reigns by releasing a collection of self-produced and home recordings.



Scaled back and pure, the songs are far from hallow or empty. The melodies Barber presents are strong, varied and ultimately complete, but this is the most exposed Barber has been on record to date.



In years past, I mentioned that Barber wanted more than hit singles, he wanted classic records. He wanted his name to stand humbly alongside artists known by all by only one name. Petty. Neil. Dylan. Paul. Loudon. Barber has long since realized that simply rehashing traditional sounds or subject matter isn’t enough, which is why he can craft songs about a love that stands the test of time (whether it be for his family or his lover) without a hint of self-consciousness. It’s not cool, simply honest. Most interestingly, when Barber sings of a love that lasts forever, he could just as easily be professing his love of music and the relationship they share.



The reason this scaled back approach works so well is that Barber has the talent to match melody to verse. Free flowing and warm (the metronome beat and organ work on the opener “Keep It Alive” set the tone perfectly), Barber keeps most tracks moving with an uplifting gate, but the self-titled LP is far from one note. The vintage soul swagger of “Ring Around Your Finger” could have been unearthed from a time capsule (or at least the Roadhouse soundtrack) and you can hear Barber’s sincere tip of the cap to the greats all over the record, but you never lose sight that this is his sound and his heart.



There are moments of longing; the double-tracked vocals and tender piano that frame “Man in a Movie” would make even the most hardened soul pause, but the celebratory feel of “I Miss You When You’re Gone”, the playfulness of “Patch in Your Jeans” and the heat of the harmonica-laced “Dust On My Collar” show Matthew’s fire still burns. - Herohill


"The Globe & Mail Review"

3 stars

Self-titled and self-made, Matthew Barber’s latest is a simple, honest pleasure, recorded on an analog 8-track machine. On the sparse Let Me Go Home, Barber’s plea is delivered with such a heavy heart that any listener with an ounce of empathy would offer to take the man home or any place else he wished to go. There are unashamed nods to Dylan, the Beatles – guitar riffs on Blue Forever recall Abbey Road’s Oh! Darling, and the rocking Dust on My Collar borrows slide licks from George Harrison – and especially Loudon Wainwright III. Barber on this generally acoustic album often misses homes and people, but he doesn’t miss on much else. – B.W. - The Globe & Mail


"Ghost Notes"

Matthew Barber, Toronto's heart-on-sleeve strummer of sweet strife, is a man torn by technology. Self-described as "old fashioned," he seriously covets his vinyl, has an affinity for "the way albums used to be made" and prefers to record his demos on a "rickety old analog 8-track machine." On the other hand, he has had occasion to make good use of ProTools, an Mbox personal studio, and his much-loved iPod, which, he reckons, has "revolutionized touring," allowing him to bring his entire music collection on the road, conveniently tucked away "in his front pocket."

"I don't think technology is the enemy by any means," insists Barber over the phone from his Toronto home, noting he maintains something of a healthy "love/hate relationship" with modern gadgetry.

"In terms of music, it's opened a lot of doors and opportunities for people to make good-sounding albums on a low budget, and I think that's an amazing thing. However, I think it also has shaped a certain sound of disposable modern music that I'm not always a big fan of. Still, popular music just evolves. When people started using multi-track tape, back in the '50s, those folks recording one take straight to acetate probably looked at that as the equivalent of ProTools today. But for me, it's just a matter of taste. A lot of the records that really speak to me are the older ones."

Indeed, he's listened well. A devotee of the usual songwriting suspects - from Dylan and Neil Young to Tom Petty and Elvis Costello - Barber writes tunes as pure
and natural as the raging, bruised carnal sentiments that drive them. Although his voice is mellow gold, his congenial melodies are sharp. Similar to contemporaries Josh Ritter, Ryan Adams, Stephen Fretwell and Bright Eyes, his bittersweet musings are fresh and yet somehow familiar, evoking the aching, wanderlust of days long past, when radio ruled, records mattered and the emotional charge of a simple song could coalesce and soar in the mainstream consciousness.

The trend continues in earnest with Barber's latest album, Ghost Notes - a graceful meditation on hope, desire and the expansive divide between selfishness and selflessness. Recorded over six days at the Hip's Bathouse Studio on the shores of Lake Ontario, the introspective missive trades the sardonic, embattled euphoria of 2005's Sweet Nothings for a spell of quiet, stripped-down reflection. The 30-year-old songwriter, whose prose rings with a newfound, and hard earned, sense of experience, takes careful personal stock after the storm, running down sweet dreams, licking wounds, settling accounts and aching over bruised bodies, skinned knees and torn hearts.

"Every record is kind of a snapshot of where you are personally and creatively," explains Barber, whose upcoming Canadian tour will be a family affair. His sister, Jill Barber, is also on the road after her latest Juno nominated effort, For All Time.

"Ghost Notes is more of an affirmation of love with all the trepidation that comes with becoming part of another person's life, and the loss of freedom that goes along with it," adds Barber. "I tried to reflect all those sorts of things on the record in the context of a wider life. My hope is always that I can put those ideas across in such a way that the listeners will feel something themselves and relate to it, as opposed to seeming like I'm spewing a diary entry at them, which is a real fine line when you write personal songs. Hopefully I'm falling on the right side of that line." - Ottawa Xpress


"Exclaim!"

In the five years since gangly guitar-slinger Mathew Barber burst onto the Canadian scene, the singer-songwriter field has become very crowded indeed. Archly observed tales of modern love have become as fashionable as last season’s skinny jeans, which may explain why a grown-up country rock album like Ghost Notes needs a special edition digital EP to help promote it. Three years on from Sweet Nothing, Barber’s glossily produced affair speaks volumes about where the 31-year-old is at, however. Melodic and rhythmic, Ghost Notes doesn’t bother with theatrics. Like Ryan Adams in less rocky moments, it’s all subtle vocals and strummed guitar that veer from the upbeat, sing-along “One Little Piece of My Love” to piano ballad “Where the River Bends.” Ghost Notes’ intimate ponderings of love and life won’t break down the borders of any paddock soon but it does ease Barber closer to veteran singer-songwriter territory. - Exclaim!


Discography

Matthew Barber, 2011
True Believer, 2010
Ghost Notes, 2008
Sweet Nothing, 2005
Means And Ends, 2002

Photos

Bio

Over a decade has passed between the early 4-track experiments as a philosophy student at Queen’s University and his latest eponymous effort. In the meantime, Toronto based Matthew Barber has become a seasoned songwriter and performer with five albums, numerous tours across Canada and around the world, a handful of record deals, a Juno nomination and an award-winning musical to his credit. “I’d like to think my recording chops have improved a bit since then,” adds Barber, “and I’ve collected a few more odds and ends to play with in the studio.”

The latest offering from Barber released in June of 2011 is a self-titled and self-produced collection of songs that marks a winter’s worth of work in his ramshackle basement home studio. By playing all the instruments as well as handling the recording and mixing duties, Barber has made somewhat of a return to his roots on this, his sixth release. “It’s the first time I’ve made a record by myself at home since the record before my first official record, if that makes sense, “ jokes Barber.

In 2008 Matthew Barber was invited by the Montreal-based theatre company Sidemart Theatrical Grocery to write songs for a stage adaptation of Derek McCormack's book The Haunted Hillbilly, a twisted fictional re-imagining of the relationship between Hank Williams and Nudie the "Rodeo Tailor". The show was first performed as a "workshop" at the Segal Centre in Montreal featuring 6 original songs, and Barber was awarded the 2008 MECCA (Montreal English Theatre Critics Award) for "Best Sound". The Montreal Mirror called it "a masterpiece of American Gothic Sleaze". In 2009 the show was re-mounted (with more songs) for a 3-week run at the Segal Centre and it went on to win the 2009 MECCA for "Best Production". The Hour called it "one of the most creative works you'll ever have the pleasure of stumbling upon". Xtra! magazine said "the songs are pure genius - equal parts hilarity and horror." In 2010 it was one of the top critics picks of the Summerworks Theatre Festival in Toronto ("NNNN "from Now Magazine) and in May 2012 it will run for 4 weeks at Montreal's renowned Centaur Theatre. In the spring of 2012, Matthew Barber will release Songs For The Haunted Hillbilly - a collection of songs from the show sung by Barber (as opposed to the various characters who sing them in the show) and featuring the Haunted Hillbilly band, comprised of Julian Brown (bass) and Joe Grass (pedal steel, guitar, mandolin and banjo.) The record plays somewhat like an old-time country music concept album in the vein of Willie Nelson's Red-Headed Stranger and Dylan's Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid, but with the sort of pop sensibility that is Barber's hallmark. In these songs Barber plays with humour and characters in ways that he rarely has on his more introspective records. There is also plenty of darkness. The influence of Hank Williams is clear (the main character Hyram is based on him) but not overpowering. There are ballads, romps, stomps, apologies, prayers and several references to booze on this record. Recorded by veteran engineer Ken Friesen on tape with vintage mics and captured live off the floor in Almonte, Ontario (on the banks of Ontario's Mississippi River - seriously) it offers up both the thrills and warm comfort of a sweet tennessee whiskey.