Bio
Matthew Barber - True Believer
True Believer is the latest release from Toronto-based singer-songwriter Matthew Barber. For this, his fourth full-length album and follow-up to the internationally acclaimed and Juno-nominated record Ghost Notes (2008, Outside Music), Barber enlisted producer Howie Beck (Hayden, Jason Collett) to man the helm. The result has been an artistic alchemy that takes Barber’s trademark melodies to new heights.
True Believer is an uplifting record, continuing the trajectory that began with Ghost Notes. Of course there are pensive moments - Barber, after all, made his name crafting beautiful but heartbreaking “sad” songs on earlier records like Means and Ends (2003, Paper Bag) and Sweet Nothing (2005, Warner) - but the overarching themes of love, hope and wonderment ultimately carry the day. The title track is possibly the most exuberant proclamation of love ever penned by Barber - never shy to buck trends and wear his heart on his sleeve.
Stylistically, True Believer continues in the same vein as Barber’s previous albums, but the presentation is markedly more crisp and confident. It’s also diverse: True Believer is a hearty homemade soup with a broth heavily steeped in the rock’n’roll singer-songwriter tradition of Young, Petty, Dylan and Springsteen; yet it features dashes of the ashes of Hank Williams, the spirit of Paul Simon and the timeless essence of The Band.
The opening track “I Think You’re Gonna Feel My Love” is a Wilbury-esque pop romp with hooks-a-plenty that sets the tone for what is to come; “Revolution of The Sun” is a meditation on the passage of time, musically reminiscent of a 70’s Lennon ballad; “While Away” is an ode to a lazy summer day and features a gorgeous vocal contribution from Matthew’s sister, the accomplished chanteuse Jill Barber; “Hawks On The Highway” proves that Barber hasn’t given up on fist-pumping rockers, this one lamenting but accepting the inevitable death of the road-trip in an age of shifting environmental consciousness. “Got That Lonesome Feeling On My Mind” (from the original play Haunted Hillbilly for which Barber composed the music) pays homage to the song-stylings of a bygone era; “Comeback Baby” tells the story of a man driven mad by the siren song of a flirtatious bird to whom he has a mysterious attraction; “Insanity or Death” alternates between introspection and an outward despair for a world that seems increasingly insane; “The Little Things” is a tender reflection on what really matters in life; and “Suddenly” is an ode to the dignity of a long life lived and the bittersweet memories of those who soldier on in the wake of loss.
The album was recorded largely in Howie Beck’s small but classy 4-walls studio in Toronto’s Parkdale neighbourhood, after laying down the bed tracks at Canterbury Studios with veteran engineer Jeremy Darby. Beck and Barber played almost everything with Beck handling the drums and bass, while Barber handled the vocals, guitar, piano and percussion. For the fancier parts, some of Toronto’s finest musicians were called in including Dean Drouillard on lead guitar, Jesse O’Brien on piano, Daniel Stone on percussion, Paul Mathew on upright bass and a crack horn section led by Bryden Baird.
True Believer marks Barber’s second release on Toronto-based Outside Music, and plans are being set for him to tour Canada, the U.S., Europe, Australia and beyond in support of this fine record. Please visit www.matthewbarber.com for news and tour dates.
* * *
More about Matthew Barber...
Matthew Barber is an acclaimed singer-songwriter hailing from Toronto, Canada. A fixture on the Canadian music scene over the last five years, Barber has released three records and an e.p. and toured extensively across Canada and abroad, making inroads into Europe, Australia and now the United States. His sound is largely influenced by the tradition of folk-rock and country singer-songwriters like Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Tom Petty, Hank Williams, Leonard Cohen and Bruce Springsteen, but also by years of immersion in contemporary indie-rock as a college radio d.j. The one constant in Barber's songwriting is his knack for a memorable hook (perhaps owing to his enduring love of the Beatles), and in this way he has carved out a unique sound that often defies categorization.
Barber burst onto the scene in 2003 with the release of his much-loved indie-debut Means and Ends and attracted the attention of Warner Music Canada. He subsequently released the e.p The Story of Your Life (2004) and his major-label debut Sweet Nothing (2005) on Warner and saw commercial success with the singles 'We're Gonna Play' (2004), and especially 'Soft One' (2005) which has remained a staple at Canadian radio since it's release. All this time Barber toured back and forth across Canada, mostly with his band The Union Dues but often as a solo performer as well. Notable long-time members of the Union Dues include bass-player Julian Brown who went on to record and tour with Feist and Apostle of Hustle; drummer Joel Stouffer who now plays in the U.K.-based Dragonette; bass-player Matt McQuaid who now plays with electro-rockers Holy Fuck; and drummer Kieran Adams who still plays with Barber as well as with Sarah Harmer, among others. Highlights of this period include national tours with The Joel Plaskett Emergency and Matt Mays and El Torpedo, and solo tours with the likes of Chris Isaak and Buck 65. Sweet Nothing was picked up by Rounder Records in Europe in 2007 and Barber had the opportunity to tour solo throughout Ireland, the UK, Netherlands and Germany.
With increasing uncertainty in the world of major labels, Barber was thrilled to make his return to the indies with the release of Ghost Notes (2008) on the revamped Outside Music label. Self-produced and considered by many critics to be his most accomplished work to date, it was nominated for a Juno award in the "best roots/traditional" category. The March 2008 release was followed by the sold-out "Sibling Revelry" tour of Canada with Matthew's sister, singer-songwriter Jill Barber. Then came another successful national tour featuring the exciting Peterborough-based three-piece The Spades as Barber's backing band. Ghost Notes was released in Australia later in 2008 on the Code One label and this release was followed by a five-week tour of the country. In April 2009, Ghost Notes saw it's official U.S. release on Outside Music's American imprint, distributed through Red Eye.
2008 also saw Barber make his first foray into the world of theatre, composing original music for Sidemart Theatre's production of The Haunted Hillbilly which ran at the Segal Centre for the Arts in Montreal in May 2008. Performing in the show as well, Barber and fellow musician Joe Grass picked up the Montreal English Theatre Critics award for "best sound." The show was remounted with a revised script and more original music in December 2009 for a 14-show run at the Segal Centre.
On a final note, Matthew continues to play drums with longstanding Toronto band Live Country Music, which also features Doug Paisley, Chuck Erlichman and Paul Mathew. He produced two independent releases by the band, and has also recorded and mixed albums for Toronto bands Halls of Devotion and Croque Monsieur.
True Believer is the latest release from Toronto-based singer-songwriter Matthew Barber. For this, his fourth full-length album and follow-up to the internationally acclaimed and Juno-nominated record Ghost Notes (2008, Outside Music), Barber enlisted producer Howie Beck (Hayden, Jason Collett) to man the helm. The result has been an artistic alchemy that takes Barber’s trademark melodies to new heights.
True Believer is an uplifting record, continuing the trajectory that began with Ghost Notes. Of course there are pensive moments - Barber, after all, made his name crafting beautiful but heartbreaking “sad” songs on earlier records like Means and Ends (2003, Paper Bag) and Sweet Nothing (2005, Warner) - but the overarching themes of love, hope and wonderment ultimately carry the day. The title track is possibly the most exuberant proclamation of love ever penned by Barber - never shy to buck trends and wear his heart on his sleeve.
Stylistically, True Believer continues in the same vein as Barber’s previous albums, but the presentation is markedly more crisp and confident. It’s also diverse: True Believer is a hearty homemade soup with a broth heavily steeped in the rock’n’roll singer-songwriter tradition of Young, Petty, Dylan and Springsteen; yet it features dashes of the ashes of Hank Williams, the spirit of Paul Simon and the timeless essence of The Band.
The opening track “I Think You’re Gonna Feel My Love” is a Wilbury-esque pop romp with hooks-a-plenty that sets the tone for what is to come; “Revolution of The Sun” is a meditation on the passage of time, musically reminiscent of a 70’s Lennon ballad; “While Away” is an ode to a lazy summer day and features a gorgeous vocal contribution from Matthew’s sister, the accomplished chanteuse Jill Barber; “Hawks On The Highway” proves that Barber hasn’t given up on fist-pumping rockers, this one lamenting but accepting the inevitable death of the road-trip in an age of shifting environmental consciousness. “Got That Lonesome Feeling On My Mind” (from the original play Haunted Hillbilly for which Barber composed the music) pays homage to the song-stylings of a bygone era; “Comeback Baby” tells the story of a man driven mad by the siren song of a flirtatious bird to whom he has a mysterious attraction; “Insanity or Death” alternates between introspection and an outward despair for a world that seems increasingly insane; “The Little Things” is a tender reflection on what really matters in life; and “Suddenly” is an ode to the dignity of a long life lived and the bittersweet memories of those who soldier on in the wake of loss.
The album was recorded largely in Howie Beck’s small but classy 4-walls studio in Toronto’s Parkdale neighbourhood, after laying down the bed tracks at Canterbury Studios with veteran engineer Jeremy Darby. Beck and Barber played almost everything with Beck handling the drums and bass, while Barber handled the vocals, guitar, piano and percussion. For the fancier parts, some of Toronto’s finest musicians were called in including Dean Drouillard on lead guitar, Jesse O’Brien on piano, Daniel Stone on percussion, Paul Mathew on upright bass and a crack horn section led by Bryden Baird.
True Believer marks Barber’s second release on Toronto-based Outside Music, and plans are being set for him to tour Canada, the U.S., Europe, Australia and beyond in support of this fine record. Please visit www.matthewbarber.com for news and tour dates.
* * *
More about Matthew Barber...
Matthew Barber is an acclaimed singer-songwriter hailing from Toronto, Canada. A fixture on the Canadian music scene over the last five years, Barber has released three records and an e.p. and toured extensively across Canada and abroad, making inroads into Europe, Australia and now the United States. His sound is largely influenced by the tradition of folk-rock and country singer-songwriters like Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Tom Petty, Hank Williams, Leonard Cohen and Bruce Springsteen, but also by years of immersion in contemporary indie-rock as a college radio d.j. The one constant in Barber's songwriting is his knack for a memorable hook (perhaps owing to his enduring love of the Beatles), and in this way he has carved out a unique sound that often defies categorization.
Barber burst onto the scene in 2003 with the release of his much-loved indie-debut Means and Ends and attracted the attention of Warner Music Canada. He subsequently released the e.p The Story of Your Life (2004) and his major-label debut Sweet Nothing (2005) on Warner and saw commercial success with the singles 'We're Gonna Play' (2004), and especially 'Soft One' (2005) which has remained a staple at Canadian radio since it's release. All this time Barber toured back and forth across Canada, mostly with his band The Union Dues but often as a solo performer as well. Notable long-time members of the Union Dues include bass-player Julian Brown who went on to record and tour with Feist and Apostle of Hustle; drummer Joel Stouffer who now plays in the U.K.-based Dragonette; bass-player Matt McQuaid who now plays with electro-rockers Holy Fuck; and drummer Kieran Adams who still plays with Barber as well as with Sarah Harmer, among others. Highlights of this period include national tours with The Joel Plaskett Emergency and Matt Mays and El Torpedo, and solo tours with the likes of Chris Isaak and Buck 65. Sweet Nothing was picked up by Rounder Records in Europe in 2007 and Barber had the opportunity to tour solo throughout Ireland, the UK, Netherlands and Germany.
With increasing uncertainty in the world of major labels, Barber was thrilled to make his return to the indies with the release of Ghost Notes (2008) on the revamped Outside Music label. Self-produced and considered by many critics to be his most accomplished work to date, it was nominated for a Juno award in the "best roots/traditional" category. The March 2008 release was followed by the sold-out "Sibling Revelry" tour of Canada with Matthew's sister, singer-songwriter Jill Barber. Then came another successful national tour featuring the exciting Peterborough-based three-piece The Spades as Barber's backing band. Ghost Notes was released in Australia later in 2008 on the Code One label and this release was followed by a five-week tour of the country. In April 2009, Ghost Notes saw it's official U.S. release on Outside Music's American imprint, distributed through Red Eye.
2008 also saw Barber make his first foray into the world of theatre, composing original music for Sidemart Theatre's production of The Haunted Hillbilly which ran at the Segal Centre for the Arts in Montreal in May 2008. Performing in the show as well, Barber and fellow musician Joe Grass picked up the Montreal English Theatre Critics award for "best sound." The show was remounted with a revised script and more original music in December 2009 for a 14-show run at the Segal Centre.
On a final note, Matthew continues to play drums with longstanding Toronto band Live Country Music, which also features Doug Paisley, Chuck Erlichman and Paul Mathew. He produced two independent releases by the band, and has also recorded and mixed albums for Toronto bands Halls of Devotion and Croque Monsieur.
