Boduf Songs
How Shadows Chase The Balance

Boduf Songs is nothing but the musical alter ego of Matthew Sweet, from Southampton. If you have no idea who he is, it's not surprising, as there are very few reports about him. For example, online: no MySpace page, very few photos of him, and a website sparse with information where black is the dominant color. It seems that he's someone who doesn't particularly like the spotlight.

As it should be, the music remains, splendid, contained in this "How Shadows Chase The Balance," his third record. A record recorded at night, in the solitude of an isolated house in the cold English countryside. A record where the close relationship with nature plays a fundamental role (a bit like Bon Iver, but in an even more minimalistic context). A record made of very little, but that conveys so much, where the apparent scarcity of means becomes the added value. Certainly not a collection of pop songs, as one might have guessed. Instead of singing, Mat whispers, and when he plucks the strings, it almost seems like he's just lightly touching his acoustic guitar. Occasionally, he's accompanied by a sparse drum set that sounds like it’s coming from the next room, and in one song, a banjo makes an appearance. Nothing else. Background noises. Drones. The slide of fingers on the strings. Essential but never trivial melodies.

A listening experience that, with the necessary predisposition, becomes disarmingly intense. Something halfway between the isolationism of Steve von Till, the plucking of Nick Drake, and something of the calmer Elliott Smith. I have found my album for the winter.