Matt Nathanson – Some Mad Hope
His engaging live shows have tended to eclipse his albums, but Matt Nathanson puts the two on equal footing with his latest. The San Francisco singer-songwriter traces the arc of a relationship on Some Mad Hope, and accordingly, the record takes some dark turns. But Nathanson is a skillful lyricist with a keen ear for melody, which saves even the most heartbreaking tunes from disappearing under their own weight. He sings with clarity and confidence over a stirring blend of instruments: overdriven electric guitars on Detroit Waves, slow-strummed acoustics on Bulletproof Week, piano to cry over on Heartbreak World. Nathanson draws vivid sketches of scenes and emotions, opening each verse of Still with the words I remember and working bits of marriage vows into lyrics recounting how he nearly blew it on Wedding Dress. Its devastating, but its hopeful, too.