SSOT, aka Rory Matthews, pint-sized artisteee from down Exeter way, has gone uber-DIY with this equally pint-sized 9 tracker. For the uninitiated, SSOT is classically trained, finger picking old-school folk with the lyrically stylings of a younger Frank Turner. Usually this is a lazy comparison, but we are talking the ‘fit 50 words into this phrase’ school of Frank Turnerisms. The tracks on offer here are all noteworthily short – I am a big fan of keeping stuff brief and to the point – everyone can respect a 1 minute acoustic song with the lyrical content of a 5 minuter.
It’s not going to win awards, the recording quality is fairly dire (deliberately rather than out of necessity, I’m sure) – all done live with a single mic, but some of the tracks really hit the spot. The title track is a charming little ditty – the end track ‘No Threat’ is a beautiful piece of acoustic riffery. SSOT doesn’t try to be something he’s not – it’s a proud look at middle-class preoccupations, rather than another tired protest on behalf of people an artist wants to assimilate to.
All in all it would take up 10 minutes of your time and remind you just how ‘nice’ music can be.
Mike