MATTHEWGOODBAND - THE AUDIO OF BEING

By John Burker

Today (actually two weeks ago. but I'm lnzy) l checked the Cascade mailbox, and in the nmil was a thick. puffy pncknge from Universal Recordi, Canada (trademark. copyright, paten, pending, aniJ all rights reserved). I opened it in the office, anLI looked inside. In it were two CD's. Reing lhe opportunistic cheap bastard that I am, 1 look at them ond clai111one for myself. I chose thL· new Mauhew Good Band CD, "The Audio of Being". Matthew Good, fur 1hoseof you that don't alre.idy know this. is a Canadian artist, horn and raised in our home province of BC, so you don't have to feel dirty about supporting mass-marketed American artists. I'm not usually too much of a fan of Mau Good, I like his music but whok impressed with this CD. It reminded me of Matthew Good's first album, "Last or the Ghetto Astronauts". fron1 the eerie intro of "Man Of Action" to the linalc "Sort of a Protest Song'' J was left feeling a sense of great clespail'and cynicism (that's a good thing where I'm from) but at the same time, a will to change, The CD. for the most pan. !low~ smoothly between tracks. which is more limn I can say for a majority of albums on the market right now, The only <:0111plaint I have with this CD is that the (mandatory?) singles interrupl 1hcotherwise consistent feel of the whole album, and arc blatantly obvious (that would be Carmelina, Anti-Pop, and The Fall of Man). Even with that, I would recommend this CD to those who arc Matt Good fans, and those who I'm nut a real ''fan", regardless I was on the aren'r.