Connecticut’s jam band Red Matter reflect on their influences in their new album Red Matter. Yet, despite their traditions in their genre, they manage to build songs that also reflect how they use the jam band tradition to their own advantage while also finding room to stretch out with their own imaginative flights of fancy.
Opening cut “Light Of The Moon” finds lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist Geoff Schneider applying his mellow croon to this mid-tempo breezer, finding emotive harmony with fellow vocalist Milo Barer, and leading the band through a breezy, rhythmic swing. A scratchy guitar, an emerging organ line, and a gurgling bass line combine to form the underpinning for the vocal sweep and it all adds up to one warm, inviting, involving work.
“Hole In My Heart” benefits from a touch of Latin swing in its groove. A percussion instrument played by Aaron Hagele and the JP Geoghegan drums motivate the listener to rumba as lead vocalist Milo Barer sings mysteriously in tone while singing heartily in spirit. Her sustains carry beautifully as the six piece band spins pretty, mellifluous melodic lines while pumping out a springy, energetic groove.
How does a jam band handle a slow song? Listeners should consult with Red Matter. Milo Barer’s cool, dark voice coats “Joker’s Wild” with a sensuous appeal. She entices the listener into her world of jaded lovers and precarious loves with vocal richness. Beneath her voice lies Doug Knight’s tender, twitchy piano line, a balance of curious and anxious. Geoff Schneider, who writes most of the band’s material, applies a pretty guitar line that contains a hint of wariness, hesitation. Red Matter certainly know how to create a vibe and set a scene.
Title track “Northbound Train” dances its way into the listener’s consciousness with a snappy groove and a wafting organ progression. One can certainly move one’s feet to this jive motion, action packed tune. One can also dig its funky appeal in the upper registers, like the spiraling lead guitar break, and, the jam that accompanies it. JP Geoghegan’s supple drum work and Ric Lubell’s thumpy bass guitar just keep pumping. The dual vocal approach atop it all, Barer and Schneider unfurl their floating carpet ride duet, firm then fierce, spearheading this tune with a playful interaction at their microphones.
Guest musician Mike Robinson beautifies the landscape of “Jealous Man” with his chirpy pedal steel work, taking the song for a ride with a never ending melodic sweep. The band’s dual lead singers add another flight of fancy, running their voices just over the purty pedal steel and its partnership with Geoff Schneider’ haunted landscape lead guitar phrase. Hearing Schneider picking that line, one that hearkens to voices that one might think they’re hearing at night, sublime in presence, all come together like colorful fabrics in a flag.
Flavored with old school R&B style, “Not A Soul Around” grooves with a fat mix of swirling organ and dancing horn blares. The male and female singers take turns, giving this a flirtatious feeling, a budding excitement between a man and a woman when there’s not a soul around. An organ solo wafts around a playful groove, suggesting strong passions, and, tall horn shadows around it color it even further with a suggestion of fun energy.
“Burn Out Bright” grooves with a firm percussive clip. It doesn’t just move. It dances. Its motions skip along subtle drum fills and persistent slaps. The upper register instruments layer over each other as natural as The Grateful Dead. It all comes together with a cool vibe that Milo Barer, over which, lays out her edgy vocal, coating it with a cool darkness. When the band jams out a bit, they beautifully expand each funky element until their instrumental portion is loaded with many moving parts, all of them rocking.
“Just Shine” funks things up even more. Both lead vocalists duet quite well on this 1970s influenced Earth Wind & Fire meets The Grateful Dead barnstormer. The band is completely into the groove, and, in true ensemble style, serve up this glowing tribute to positive vibes. Guest musicians Crispen Cioe and Billy Holloman inject horn shots, horn swirls, and horn blares. All of their horn toppings make for a better recipe and this one will have you singing along during a dark, rainy day.
Sprinkled with tasty keyboard notes, “Cool My Bones” is a fun, bouncy ride. Both singers sound like they’re enjoying their interplay as an electric piano continues its mission to spread joy, note by note. As with other songs on this album, the vocalists coat the easy going, freewheeling tune with their flexible voices. This lets the listener feel the sprawling sonic landscape. This one, especially its lead guitar break, takes us on a long ride. It is all of the musical elements thrown in as we go along that make it likable.
Closing track “Huddled Masses” revolves around a punctuation, a brief pause when every instrument cascades at once. The mid-tempo cruise leading to it, even handed instrumentation and yearning vocals, voices tethered to mellow guitar phrasing and understated organ(guest Jordan Giangreco) keep everything anchored, a mellow, peaceful feeling that exists because it is so well grounded. As in other songs in this album, a Grateful Dead influence can be detected in the flow of the music and in its layering of instruments. Yet, Red Matter have their own distinctive sound, following their own instincts and their own individual tendencies on their instruments. The dual lead vocals, especially, brings another twist to the jam band vibe.
Red Matter make it seem easy to play in a jam band. All of their tracks on this Northbound Train album feel like they are coming together naturally, organically, with nothing forced or predetermined. Rhythm and slide guitar man Paul Dunay supports things while also maintaining his own sense of direction. Their grooves never feel heavy handed. Their guitars and keyboards never feel too edgy or too loud. Their vocals, though strong and determined, never belt with reckless abandon. Red Matter show on this Northbound Train album that ensemble work and a disciplined respect for each other makes beautiful music. Produced by Vic Steffens at Horizon Studios in West Haven, Connecticut, Northbound Train is available on Mighty Quinn Records.
