IAIN MATTHEWS - The Art Of Obscurity

An unforgettable voice in Fairport Convention and a leading figure of the finest 70s pop-folk with Southern Comfort and Plainsong, Iain Matthews had been absent from the recording scene for fifteen years. Curiously, "The Art Of Obscurity" is immediately dismissed by the artist himself as his last album before slipping back into recording obscurity for good.

An album untethered from any commercial logic, Matthews's return is a curious project of romantic, nostalgic folk, full of warm sentiment and tasteful instrumental choices; his voice, always clean and rich in harmony, no longer has the crystalline tone of his best years, but remains warm and comforting. Music of narrative, melancholy tones, "The Art Of Obscurity" is an intimate confession from an artist who isn't looking for new converts, but is trying, elegantly and modestly, to reconnect with his audience's sensibility.

Unfortunately the songs come across as elegant, refined exercises, but lacking the pathos needed to raise more than a smile: I've loved Iain Matthews in all his incarnations and folk-rock experiments (his Windham Hill album "Walking A Changin' Line" is superb), but "The Art Of Obscurity" is a record that spins endlessly on pleasant, overly polite chords, never quite finding the force and the feeling needed to keep the album from being filed away among the fleeting listens.

Intelligent lyrics, full of reflection and gentle harmonies, don't seem enough to restore our affection for Iain Matthews: there's nothing objectionable about these new songs, but it feels healthier to go back to little gems from the past ("If You Saw Thro' My Eyes" and "Valley Hi") to truly appreciate a musician and singer of rare, precious talent.

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25/04/2014