It is a while since I reviewed a release from Matilda Shakes; I’ve missed their raucous sound.
‘Fever Dream’ is raucous but it isn’t the dance yourself into exhaustion sound I quite expected. It’s a sinuous witchy sound that twists around you like smoke. It sounds a little Southern Gothic. It has what I’m going to call swagger. And it’s cinematic; you can imagine a dark smoky film when you listen to it. It has all of this but it also has the band’s trademark guitars to the max.
It is somewhat retro; the guitars are distinctly old style heavy rock, they crunch like fuck. But the band have always flirted with something retro, and yes, there’s something of a raw indie rock sound. But as predictable as that might sound, it isn’t, they have a real signature sound.
And as tempting as it is just to listen to the drippingly good guitars; take a moment, more than a moment, to listen to the words. These are great words, words that make you smile, words that tell a story.
I expected fantastic, I got much more than that, ‘Fever Dream’ is a bloody joy. From its opening lilting plucked guitar to its croaking end (yep, I’m not making that up honest), it draws you into its world. File this under ‘Fuck is this good’.
