Matt Nathanson
Some Mad Hope

Does anyone remember "Laid", the song that in 1994 made the James famous throughout Europe, an English band that for a certain (brief) period enchanted Manchester on par with the more famous Oasis? The song in question, featuring a catchy falsetto chorus and a suitably agitated lyric, was brought back a few years later by an American singer-songwriter who re-recorded it with violins to complete the soundtrack of "American Pie 3 - The Wedding." The singer-songwriter in question, Matt Nathanson, wasn't exactly new to the American acoustic pop circuit (which, apparently, has a life of its own), but he had never gained proper visibility in Europe, where his vaguely folk approach would have found much more fertile ground to thrive.

In 2007, after five studio albums released only in the United States, he attempted a big leap by signing with a major label and distributing his LP more widely. The result was not entirely satisfactory, but Matt still boasts a hardcore fan base in his homeland and apparently, in the end, he is content with that.

At his debut, "Please," dated 1993, his voice was hoarse and vibrant like that of a budding David Gray, and the still raw sound showed a clear inspiration from European acoustic music, something semi-unknown in America, which made him a small preacher in pagan land. However, much water has passed under the bridge since then; Matt's voice has improved, gained in range and technique, and his melodic ability, still remarkable, has remained intact despite the passage of time. Today, Matt Nathanson is a cheerful, bearded thirty-five-year-old who, with "Some Mad Hope," succeeds in the challenging task of sounding creative and valid even in Europe, which has always been the cradle of acoustic pop.

The opening track, "Car crash", immediately reveals a well-produced and studied approach to mid-tempo pieces with a discreet melodic quality enhanced by the excellent voice of the singer originally from Lexington, Massachusetts - but it's with the following track, "Come on get higher", the best of the batch, that we reach the full awareness of how this humble pop performer can achieve exceptional results with a few well-placed chords: poetic and vibrant verse and pre-chorus, where Matt's acoustics are countered by calm guitar riffs and a typically American rhythm, paradoxically close to r'n'b (think One Republic, yes), which, however, enriches and boosts the beautiful and sweet chorus, truly successful in the bouncing play that goes from Travis to R.E.M.

If the next, piano-laden "Heartbreak world" is perhaps a half-misstep tainted by Nathanson's mood that can't decide between sadness and joy, just like "Gone", too intentionally catchy in its martial and catchy chorus close to compatriot Howie Days, the fourth track, "Wedding dress", signals from the initial riff and verse a great songwriting effort. In the chorus, played on Matt's excellent high note reaching sacred monsters of pop like the aforementioned David Gray or early Coldplay, adding a slightly more rock and sustained touch thanks to the ever-present drums, we realize that, if he had been born in England, Nathanson would have easily become an acclaimed international star. Another great piece is the sweet "Bulletproof weeks", where Matt recovers his purest roots, close to Dylan's folk or today's Damien Rice, building a delicate acoustic ballad stripped down to highlight the melancholic lyrics and the velvety, pained falsetto that reaches its emotional peak in the final part.

The second part of the album begins with perhaps the most unnecessary track in the repertoire, the lively and rockish "To the beat of our noisy hearts", but quickly recovers with another lovers' ballad, "Still", with a tender, almost a cappella beginning that gradually opens into a simple chorus that could have easily been sung by James Walsh's Starsailor and lays on a bridge copied from "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia. On the rock side, the best track is undoubtedly the following "Detroit Waves", whose chorus in itself is not particularly original but is ennobled by the evocative bridge where our artist gives a demonstration of his unpredictably high vocal range in which, once again, we find reflected the splendid strings of Damien Rice (of whom Nathanson perhaps lacks equally characteristic whispers).

For the epic "Falling apart", good Matt could perhaps have been accused of plagiarism by My Chemical Romance (listen to believe, the echoes of "Cancer" and "Welcome to the black parade" are evident), yet the result is still a fresh and fun pop rock. The intimate "Sooner surrender", with a verse close to Sting's ballads and a chorus played between enchanted violins and soft falsettos, is perhaps the song you wouldn't expect, and despite the drums being more out of place here than ever, it's hard not to think that Matt has well assimilated the style lesson left by Travis and Coldplay. The album concludes with the sweet and poetic "All we are", a small gem of immediacy where our artist shows his most melodic vein, accompanied by an unusually optimistic and sunny lyric, born of Californian sunsets (California is Nathanson's second home).

In conclusion then, an honest pop album that, on one hand, leaves us with a taste of too many, distinct points in common with other more famous songwriters (among others, Jack Johnson and Ari Hest), but also shows us the effectiveness and poetry of a voice that has nothing to envy to more established artists, and which, in fact, is in many respects more pure and genuine, despite Matt no longer being a youngster. Some more than good pieces ("Come on get higher", "Wedding dress", and "All we are" above all) enhance the level of an album that may not be a masterpiece, nor an unforgettable work, but certainly shows us Europeans that often, though not always, even Americans can do something convincing in areas that have historically seen us as superior, such as in this case the pop tinged with acoustic guitar and quiet nostalgia for love.