ALBUM REVIEW: SUCH IS LIFE – Mat Parsons

 Mat Parsons

     There has always been something about acoustic where it has its glow about it. To state the obvious, acoustic gives the listener more of a “feel at home vibe”. The main reason for that is a clearer interpretation of the artist’s lyrics.

     Now when an acoustic guitar is mixed with a soulful voice in the emerging acts of today’s music, listeners are exposed to Mat Parsons (Scranton, Pennsylvania). For the past year, Mat Parsons has done quite well for himself in the past year. He has shared the stage with bands such as Hawthorne Heights, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, The Wonder Years, and many more.
     Mat Parsons released a new album called Such is Life and I’ll be reviewing three of his songs off the album for a synopsis for what to expect off this album.
     The first song to get into is “Life Must Be Lived Like A Free Man”. As far as talent is concerned, this song overall is the best to judge Mat Parsons on in my opinion. He has this ability on this song where he is able to put so much emotion in his voice to the point where you can’t even tell what can exactly be the chorus. Lyrically, this song is amazing. The look of those mountains/The shape of the tree/Baby nothing seems more natural than you and me/ Metaphorically, I love that line because it starts out so simple, and it involves an analogy between relationships with the essence of nature.
     The next song to be broken down is “Looking Back”. The way that song just progressed from a simple guitar riff into something so meaningful is astounding to me. This song is kind of like a motivation song. Coming from the song title itself, the reflection of the past is quite essential to what the meaning of the past is. That meaning is really just to move on and how things can be different within the range of a day, month or a year. As far as all the songs, this one has the best chorus because there isn’t an overabundance of anything. The vocals and the guitar riffs are incredibly smooth together.
     Another song that I felt it stood out the most was “Malls and Mountains”. The primary reason for thinking that is due to how much folk influence there is in this song. It’s one of those songs you would hear playing at a 10 person bonfire and the audience would easily sing along to it. Mat Parsons is influenced by Jack Johnson and Bob Dylan. This is one song where it’s feasible to tell that who he’s influenced by because the guitar parts are easy to play and it’s kind of like a “jam out song”.
     For fans of Never Shout Never, Five Years and Counting, The Almost, and Good Old War, you will not be disappointed.

To listen to Mat Parsons' album,

Such Is Life

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Mat-Parsons/138906552800914?ref=ts

http://www.myspace.com/mathewparsons

http://www.purevolume.com/matparsons