Review Summary: Runner up, ends up a winner.
Matt Corby raced to fame in Australia when coming runner-up on the nation’s 2007 Idol completion. Corby, then was a 16 year old boy, still at school, with good looks and charm that melted all the teenage girl hearts. Though, instead of following the path that most Idol contestants take, Corby stayed true to himself and worked hard to be a musician that wanted to be noticed in his own outright way instead of being a part of the Idol pop circus.
After a few years of quiet activity, releasing simple folk EP’s here and there with little success, Corby travelled overseas to develop a new sound that lifted away from the cutesy folk to a more indie/rock based crunch. Lead single ‘Brother’ is the perfect example of this change in tune, which has received huge airplay on local radio stations. The song encompasses Corby’s strength which is huge vocal range, from angelic falsetto to earth shattering throaty grumbles. While only a four track EP, there is obvious variation in the musicianship and song writing giving great variation to Corby’s work. ‘Soul A’Fire’ is a lively, blues ballad that engulfs any listener, while ‘Untitled’ is filled with glorious harmonies that are laced soulfully over the gently laid guitar track. Bree Tranter (of The Middle East) gives a haunting vocal performance on closing track ‘Big Eyes’, creating a beautiful duet to close.
Lyrically, Corby shows maturity beyond his age with whimsical twists and turns in every line:
Sleep Now,
Under my skin,
Make Sure, you’ll try to conjure the wind
And ease my mind,
Into The Flame is surely the beginning of a more than likely rise for Matt Corby, showing that he is more than a cover artist and has an amazing song writing ability. Working independently up until now has shown that Corby does not need the glitz and glamour of the Idol society, much like fellow idol contestant Lisa Mitchell, proving that Idol is not just a sausage factory of talent and much variance can be found.
