Mike Mattison & Trash Magic make it all sound easy on Turn A Midnight Corner. A uniformly excellent explorative statement in contemporary blues, this Landslide Records effort is the flashpoint of experience and ambition at which the frontman only hinted by his efforts with his Scrapomatic band and his 2014 release Afterglow.
The reputation Mike Mattison initially (and rightfully) gained as a linchpin of the Derek Trucks Band was the first inkling in how he has come to distinguish himself as a disciplined, tasteful performer. But this new record illustrates how his work with the DTB, along with subsequent participation with the Tedeschi Trucks Band, has only scratched the surface of his skills as a vocalist, songwriter, bandleader, and recording artist.
Ostensibly a narrative based on his own fictional creation of an unsung blues duo of the 1970’s, there’s a subliminal thread of autobiographical deliverance running through the dozen original songs the bandleader composed for Turn A Midnight Corner. And that personal touch arises largely from Mattison’s nuanced vocals, integrated with the sympathetic ensemble work of his accompanists. Best of all, this fusion of talent is in the service of down-to-earth material like “Sore Losers (Own The Town).”
“Going Down The Alley” sets a deceptively friendly tone for a record that at first sounds slightly more familiar than fresh. But verve and good taste pervade recordings so mixed by co-producer (with Mattison) Jason Kingsland (then mastered by Eric Conn); Mike and company played and sang together in one room of the Studio MG in Georgia, so the instinctive turns of keyboard and guitar sound like a natural outgrowth of the unit’s chemistry.
Momentum from which action progresses unabated for the fifty-six some minutes of the LP via tracks such as “I Can’t Stand It.” Mike Mattion’s slightly sandpapery voice suits the bluesy roots of “Get It Back,” as does the fivesome’s streamlined unity. Meanwhile, the infectious interactions of Trash Magic radiate as much self-restraint as abandon on tracks like “And I’m Gone.”
And the surety of the rhythm foundation supplied by Tyler ‘The Falcon’ Greenwell is integral to that effect. A long-time collaborator of Mattison’s–not to mention an alumnus of the Tedeschi Trucks Band as well as the Wood Brothers–the nuances of his playing highlight how, consciously or unconsciously, Mike Mattison’s quietly dynamic writing is tailored to the instrumental expertise of the foursome in order to elicit superlative yet understated performances.
Accordingly, the dreamlike air of “When I Was Loaded” sounds of a piece with the frisky country blues of “Traveler.” The acoustic textures in the latter conjure an intimate atmosphere at just the proper juncture in this track sequencing: at this point, it’s striking to note how the wittily-named unit comports itself with so much versatility of style: it’s as if each respective approach was their niche, all the way from the barroom (“Lookee Here”) to the hootenanny (“Oh, Be Wary”).
During such intervals, as well as on cuts like “Be Like A Train,” Mattison’s lyrics catch the ear as consistently as the arrangements Unfortunately, there are no lyrics to follow on the disc package or any source on-line, but the easygoing gait with which Mattison and Trash Magic evince a confident grasp of roots speaks volumes on its own terms throughout “Waiting For Lola.”A certain element of finality also renders that number the ideal conclusion to this longplayer. Those music lovers duly impressed by Mike Mattison’s previous work, in his own name or otherwise, might be surprised by the close-knit, earthy eclectics of Turn A Midnight Corner. Nevertheless, the element of surprise in such reactions should only heighten the satisfaction at the heart of the responses.
