Matt MacKelcan – From Where I Stand
Primary URL: http://www.mattmackelcan.com/
South Carolina based Matt MacKelcan seems to be making all the right moves. His latest CD entitled “From Where I Stand” has received critical acclaim from many music critics and his impressive hybrid sound of folk/Pop is turning people’s ears and heads. Their dramatic crescendos, minimalist intensity, through intricate harmonies have elicited comparisons to The Civil Wars, the Swell Season, Josh Rouse, The Hold Steady, Son Volt, Pete Yorn, Neal Casal and Ray LaMontagne just to name a few.
As his popularity spreads far beyond his roots, Matt’s sophomore CD No Turning Back continues to meet embracing live audiences across the country—from Boston to Austin, from Park City to New York City. He’s no stranger to crowds of thousands either, headlining with his band at college football’s 2010 Capital One Citrus Bowl pregame event and many other Festival’s nationwide Artscape,(Greenville, SC) Artisphere, (Baltimore), Dogwood (Atlanta), River Jam (Charlotte, NC)
With equal parts sweetly anthemic, pop tinged folk, provided by MacKelcan’s somewhat gritty, passionate Americana Roots sound, From Where I Stand is an intrepid step for this artist. Each track though simplistic, has a ton of dynamics, you almost forget its simplicity and the fact that there is so much going on track to track if you listen carefully. Once “Light are Low” came on, I kept replaying it over and over. It is a ballad packed with so much tension yet much emotion. Some track almost enough to make me cry because finally I am hearing an artists that is baring his soul not under false pretense like everyone else I the feeble attempts to make some mundane record label happy. Lucky for me, I’m not the loveydovey’ Folk type. All jokes aside, it’s a wonderful song. “The 4th of July Parade” and “Plans” don’t really let up either and are both equally as impressive. “January Sun” and “Drive” and the title track are a bit polarizing compared to the first 3 tracks. My favorite track is a toss-up between “The 4th of July Parade” and “Do You Trust Time”
I usually don’t like it when critics use the term “musical journey”—even though I’ve done it myself on a few occasions. For me it usually means it’s a journey you don’t want to go on, and the critic is just being nice. But listening to the music of Matt MacKelcan the cliché applies quite appropriately and almost emotionally. From Where I Stand does exactly what it’s designed to do – inspires the soul. These songs are beautifully performed and will have the listener drifting off into various emotional landscapes—if I may take the liberty to sound so corny. I get the same sensation with MacKelcan as I do with all the aforementioned artists and yes he’s in good company.
When listening to the vocal greats, there’s nothing to be nitpicky about. Nothing to pinpoint and say, “Aha, this is where they screwed up!” You simply get lost in the music, to the point of not wanting to find your way out. Soulful vocal enthusiasts that love earthy based Pop should definitely check out & Download the latest Matt MacKelcan CD entitled From Where I Stand as soon as humanly possible via below link
Purchase Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/from-where-i-stand/id911101453
E. Eddings. Approved by Cyrus Rhodes
