Review Summary: Matt Embree's side project, Love You Moon offers a look inside at the different flavors of Mr. Embree, some that cannot be found on RX Bandits' records.
Matt Embree of RX Bandits' solo project, Love You Moon, may as well be titled Flavors of Matt Embree, as the listener gets a taste of him in many forms, inlcuding some of which that cannot be found in RX Bandits.
"Waxwane" is a compilation of solo songs Matt wrote, though I'm not sure if he wrote them solely for the album or if they were just scrap songs that he wrote at one point or another during his career. Either way they are all excellent in their own ways and make for a great listen.
1.) Screams In a Vaccuum- This is by far the most agressive song on the album. It opens up with Matt furiously strumming an acoustic guitar followed by a distorted electric with a delay effect on it. There is no percussion in this song as Matt wails away about his dislike for modern scoiety. It sounds a bit like it could've been a Bob Dylan song. At points he is literally screaming, only further enhancing how strongly he feels about society today. It's a good song, not the best though, and the screaming is a bit of a turn-off. 3.5/5
2.) Please Come Home- It opens up with a country-esque riff and chord progression and Matt singing somewhat quiet and low before the drums kick in full throttle and heads into the chorus. The topic is pretty obvious, asking for a past lover to come back to him but the lyrics are very well written:
"The clouds are getting gray and it looks about to rain, and she's shaking off the morning while I'm trying to convince her that this pain that's in my belly ain't because I can't
maintain, I just haven't felt like feeling for the past couple of days"
This is one of my favorites on the album for its simplicity and catchiness. 4.5/5
3.) Why Pop Stars Sell Silicone- You may have heard this song before the album came out, I know Matt played it at the Sound of Animals Fighting show and other various shows. It's a little more poppy than the first two. Again, it starts off with a chord progression and light drums before picking up. It's also another political song. It has one of the catchiest choruses on the album and is one of the top tracks. 4/5
4.) The Last Words of Nicholas Berg- Yet another politcal song, this one about the war and Nicholas Berg, an American who was beheaded by a terrorist group. Matt is playing with an acoustic as he has on all the songs thus far but this time by himself, no percussion. The lyrics are very strong and upfront about his feelings on the subject. It's a good song but doesn't offer much in terms of hooks or melody. 3/5
5.) Brown Shingle Berkeley- This song is one of the flavors of Matt Embree that I mentioned before. The kind that would not likely be found on an RX Bandits record. "Brown Shingle Berkely" is once again just Matt playing on an acoustic guitar but this time completely stripped down and in a humble form. It's a slower song with Matt just softly picking through some chords and singing very softly. It's about a former love, but what makes the song so great are the humble and honest lyrics that accompany the beautiful melody. For me, this is the stand-out track on Waxwane. 5/5
6.) Late May's Gaze- This is another one of the flavors of Mr. Embree This is a jazz song with Lauren Coleman of Pebaluna accompanying him on vocals. Matt beautifully picks through some jazz chords while a drummer (I'm not sure who, maybe Chris Tsagakis of RXB) plays some jazz drums. It's a very beautiful song although the lyrics are a bit odd, but the melody and the combination of Matt and Lauren's voices overcome it. One of the best on the album. 4.5/5
7.) H-Bombs and Strip Malls- After two slow songs, Matt returns with the most explosive track on the album. This song shows the agression that was in "Screams In a Vaccuum". It's another political song, with Matt once again speaking his mind on the shape of our society, specifically the influence of technology.
"And now megabytes do the work of brain cells, and hard-drives fill the tasks of hearts, but humans can't be trusted anyway."
"H-Bombs and Strip Malls" is much faster and has a pretty cool drum beat to back it up. It's also the first song done entirely on an electric guitar. It even has a little solo which fits in nicely. Overall a very good song and picks up the pace of the album very well. 4/5
8.) David's Birthday- Continuing the trend of electric guitar and faster-paced songs is "David's Brithday". It has a swing/ big-band type of piano bouncing along and gives the song a different character. It also has another cool little guitar solo about half way through. This is by far the most accessible song on Waxwane. It's much different than all of the other songs as it's a little bit funky and dare I say: radio-friendly. Overall it keeps the album moving and is one of the better songs on it. 4/5
9.) To Kill For You- Matt once again returns to a one-on-one with his acoustic guitar. He also returns to the topic of politics, tihs one about the war. It's a good song with some good lyrics and features some pretty skilled guitar work. However, at times his voice sounds whiney and it runs on a little too long at 5:33. Good, but somewhat skippable. 3/5
10.) A New World- Lauren Coleman returns again for another duet. This time however it's not as grand as "Late May's Gaze". There's another version them playing this song live and its much faster, but on the album version it's been slowed down considerably. Matt and Lauren's voices sound terrific together and it displays the best vocals on the entire album, but it's very slow and not all that interesting. Kind of a disappointing ending and would be the most skippable song on the record, but the lyrics and vocals save it. 3/5
Waxwane is really an excellent album. There's not a single bad song on it and furthermore each track offers something different. The songs really are all different flavors of Matt Embree showing his hard, agressive side, or his soft, romantic side, as well as lots of others in between. I truly hope Waxwane is not the only collections of songs Love You Moon puts out.
