The two musical acts today may not be that familiar to local mainstream audiences; but if there is musical justice in the world, that fact should be rectified as soon as possible. Matt Nathanson has been making great music for some years now; while Big Grams is a new collaboration that sparkles.
Matt Nathanson — Show Me Your Fangs (Vanguard Records; available on Amazon.com). Noted singer/songwriter adept at mixing rock and folk, Nathanson has been recording since the mid-’90s but would be best known here for his 2007 ballad, Come On Get Higher. Well, this is his latest and true to form. It’s a great mix of uptempo songs with a retro R&B feel, and folksy ballads. Giants, Gold in the Summertime and Headphones would be my standout party tracks; while Playlists & Apologies and Adrenaline are the strong, more reflective tunes. A very solid effort from Nathanson, marred only by the Shouting track which I thought sounded amateurish and out of place. There’s also a track called Bill Murray which rightly honors the comedian; but lyrically, I was expecting more. It’s a great CD to take on long drives.
Big Grams — Big Grams (Epic Records; available on Amazon.com). Big Grams is the collaboration between Big Boi (Antwan Patton of Outkast) and the electronic rock boy/girl duo Phantogram. Phantogram describes its music as street beat, psych pop, and the blessed thing about the album is that strangely enough, the music meshes nicely with the rap, hip-hop swagger of Big Boi. Strictly speaking, it is an EP, with only seven tracks; but rather than overstay it’s welcome, we are left wishing there was more. Put It On Her and Goldmine Junkie were my immediate favorites; but there really isn’t a bad track on the EP. Born to Shine features Run The Jewels, while Drum Machine, the very strong closer, has Skrillex guesting. If this is one facet of the future of hip-hop, count me in.