Messenger

There are a few key qualities that the discerning music lover scrutinises when appraising a new artist. A very few artists wield so much charisma that they can sell you just about anything before you've realised what's happened. Matt joe gow has the charisma to be one of those artists - but he isn't. Matt prefers to concentrate on the conviction, on writing and delivering songs that look you straight in the eye. You don't have to listen to more than thirty seconds of matt and his band the dead leaves' debut LP 'the messenger' to appreciate that. The deep quaver in his voice leaps out of opening track 'come to mama (she say)' like an arrow, both graceful and inexorable.