Matt Mays + El Torpedo - Terminal Romance

After the relatively rapid northern success of Matt Mays + El Torpedo's debut album, he's pulled out the big guns and put together an album that's glossy and professional sounding, while still being raw enough to remain credible. For this one he's enlisted the help of producer Chris Tsangarides (Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy, The Tragically Hip), mixer Mike Fraser (AC/DC) and then had the whole shebang mastered together by Bob Ludwig (Rolling Stones, Rush, Bruce Springsteen). With a roll call like that, Terminal Romance has the potential to be quite the heavy hitter. However, big names can only take you so far and ultimately, the material has to be top notch. While I don't feel that this is a particularly revolutionary release, it is a good rockin' summertime CD.

This time around Matt has tossed aside the alt-country, and kept this one pretty much a straight forward rocker. It opens strongly with Building A Boat, that starts out with a bit of a mid 80's ZZ Top driving riff, before Matt's voice kicks in sounding very Can-Rock. Tall Trees is the first single, and it's a decent enough song, although not offering all that much in the way of surprise. Still, a good song is a good song, and it's got a solid chorus and it's fair share of hooks. Snippets of Americana still eek their way through, most noticeably on Shining Eyes which has a cool sounding guitar solo and some nice shouting harmonies. Stand And Deliver is a Tom Petty-ish number, with a beat that reminds me a little bit of Tom's American Girl. The Hunter, The Hunted is one of my faves, a classic rocker that remains relatively subdued until it glides just past the halfway point and the guitar just starts shredding up my speakers, while Matt's voice acts in steady competition until he screams, "Until the sun goes down!", ultimately announcing his defeat. My unapologetic love of all things musically epic, makes the title track my favorite. It starts out as a simple piano ballad and continues to build in 70's Springsteen fashion, minus the marble mouthed voice. (My apologies to Springsteen fans but it's more of a personal thing wherein I have trouble getting past his voice. I assure you that ultimately I have nothing but the utmost respect for pre-Born In The USA Springsteen, I just struggle to enjoy it, that's all.) The song Terminal Romance is definitely the album standout, reaching a thundering crescendo that begs for repeat listenings.

In conclusion, I think that is a very good release that, although I can't see myself pulling it out all that often, is enjoyable all the way through. An album that contains no filler is a rarity these days, and for that reason alone, I feel compelled to recommend it.

Photo above by Kayla MacLellan

Myspace: Matt Mays + El Torpedo