{"id":74142,"date":"2020-09-11T13:25:41","date_gmt":"2020-09-11T18:25:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/?p=74142"},"modified":"2020-09-11T13:27:37","modified_gmt":"2020-09-11T18:27:37","slug":"matt-watson-ouch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/2020\/09\/11\/matt-watson-ouch\/","title":{"rendered":"Matt Watson: Ouch!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"I\u2019ll be honest\u2014when I heard that comedian\/podcaster Matt Watson was releasing an album I got a little nervous. Excluding my brief Weird Al phase as a ten year old, I have never really been a fan of comedy music. Some of the comedy singles Matt Watson released\u2014”COVID-19 Type Beat\u201d or \u201cI\u2019m In Love With My Dad,\u201d for example\u2014I found hilarious and enjoyed, but they were never anything I would listen to in my free time. However, once he clarified that this EP would be completely serious music, I had no idea what to expect, but I was excited nonetheless. Once the album finally came out it felt relieving to finally hear what type of sound he had in mind. Additionally, Ouch!<\/em>, like many projects coming out this year, is a product of early-quarantine isolation. After my first listen it was clear that Matt had plenty of time to sharpen his production chops and release something worthwhile while hiding away in his apartment. Combining elements of lo-fi indie rock and bedroom-pop, Watson proves himself as more than a jokester and provides a promising look at what is to come in his future music career.<\/p>\n

The opening track, \u201cJello,\u201d provides a fitting overture that has a nice transition into the next track, \u201cCome Over.\u201d The playful synths are reminiscent of a retro video game. The lyrics of this track discuss themes of life not being exactly perfect but Matt is kind of indifferent to that\u2014\u201cCan\u2019t complain at all.\u201d My favorite lyrics on this track are \u201cI wish I pushed myself all the way \/ I wish I wasn\u2019t tired every day,\u201d something anyone growing up can relate to. \u201cNokia\u201d has some really catchy percussion mixed with some chirpy synths, and Matt flexes his rap-esque delivery. This track is followed by my personal favorite song, \u201cMargie,\u201d which has a guitar riff that is undeniably catchy and an extremely groovy baseline that ties the production together nicely. Matt discusses getting over a tough breakup and the conflicting emotions that come with moving on. It also has my favorite line and the most emo lyric of the EP, \u201cI wouldn\u2019t sell my soul for nothin\u2019.\u201d The breakdown towards the end gives me chills every time. This is the soundtrack to my fall walks around town lately.<\/p>\n

Some of the few critiques of the EP I saw online were addressing the vocals and how people wanted them to be louder, but muffled vocals are easily my favorite aspect of lo-fi music in general. It\u2019s what makes early projects from artists like Car Seat Headrest so appealing and fun to revisit.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, Matt Watson isn\u2019t making anything groundbreaking or next level, but there is nothing wrong with that. This EP is consistent, fun, laid-back, and I really enjoy it. With the closing track, \u201cSleep Tight,\u201d Matt gives a lovely conclusion that has a relevant title. It feels like you are being tucked in for the night\u2014a calming good night from an EP that adds the \u201cbedroom\u201d to all the genres being explored throughout the comedian\u2019s debut project.
\n
\nRecommended If You Like: bo en, George Clanton, Steve Lacy
\nRecommended Tracks: 4 (Margie), 2 (Come Over), 3 (Nokia), 5 (Feel This Way)
\nDo Not Play: None
\nWritten by Griffin Lowry on 09\/11\/2020 <\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Combining elements of lo-fi indie rock and bedroom-pop, Watson provides a promising look at what is to come in his future music career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20177,"featured_media":74145,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3235,3230,181],"tags":[7669,8504,8505],"class_list":["post-74142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","category-music-reviews","category-new-music-rotation","category-rock-rotation","tag-griffin-lowry","tag-matt-watson","tag-ouch"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ouch-2.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20177"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74142"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74142\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}