Album Review

The Specimen –

• 15th Apr 2008

The brilliantly buoyant, unpredictable sound of (the male fronted Dubstar sound-alike) Matt Gorny AKA The Specimen (TS) outshines his somewhat limited song-writing skills (I say despite his winning many a song-writing award). His Bobby Gillespie/Damon Albarn vocal serves well throughout a set of feel good, disco derived tracks which are offered up with great, pleasing effect. I’m willing to bet his live performances are far more epic, energetic and dynamic than what the claustrophobic studio commonly fails to capture or allow.

His minimalist but undeniably vibrant lyrics often scream out to be heard, particularly true of ‘I Wish it Would Snow’ where we hear “Dreamt of a snowman as big as a house/Made of snow imported from Mars” amidst a perfectly captured choral support. Charming and magical and without hesitation I declare it to be my personal favourite.

This EP (10 tracks makes it an LP in my book) boasts a couple of remixes that perhaps fail to stray far enough from the original formula and in my mind at least, don’t diversify enough to warrant their inclusion. That’s not to say they’re of a sub standard or are unsatisfactory, certainly not, I just feel that TS has got more than enough to offer by his splendid sounding self. He should have a T-shirt that reads ‘Check me out’! Keep on rockin’ in the free(ky)world man!!!