This article was originally published on beingtheremag.com, an independent music and film magazine that ran from 2004 to 2007. It is presented here as part of the Being There Magazine archive.
By Adam Anklewicz | Being There Magazine, March/April 2007
Label: Warner Music Canada
The latest release by Matt Mays was designed as a soundtrack to the yet-to-be completed film, When The Angels Make Contact, written by Mays and director Drew Lightfoot. When the film ran out of money, the decision was made to release the soundtrack, an eighteen-track mélange of music that will often make you cringe, but along the way you’ll find a gem or two that will, perhaps, make the trip worthwhile.
After a brief introduction followed by the “The Past,” a song that could fit in with any Tom Petty album, expectations should be high for this record, but it’s quickly ruined by the title track. A melee of synths, “When The Angels Make Contact” is backed by a boring dance beat and the assistance of hip-hop artist Buck 65 is greatly to the detriment of the song. There’s no real cohesive element to this track, along with a boring melody; this creates of perfect picture of the album to come.
There’s a lot that’s good to this album. “Spoonful of Sugar” is a beautiful song and a perfect example of what Mays can do when he’s on the ball. And even with a poor vocal performance, “Never Saw It Comin’” only helps it get better. Those songs, however, are followed by a series of songs that only get worse and worse as a vocoder is even enlisted to bring out the bad of this record. This long series of songs stick out as a sore thumb in the canon of May’s career; very few elements will be recognizable to his fans.
It seems as if Mays is trying to push his boundaries, a commendable goal, but unfortunately he’s pushed off the edge. Perhaps if this record was released with a film, one might be able to understand what his goal was. Without it, you can only guess. Do yourself a favor and pick up Mays’ first self-titled record instead.