{"id":6116,"date":"2023-11-07T09:21:29","date_gmt":"2023-11-07T09:21:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/?p=6116"},"modified":"2023-11-07T09:21:30","modified_gmt":"2023-11-07T09:21:30","slug":"album-review-desire-mattanja-joy-bradley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/2023\/11\/07\/album-review-desire-mattanja-joy-bradley\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: &#8220;Desire&#8221; &#8211; Mattanja Joy Bradley"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<iframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/18CYbkENMwV8Fq8mrvlIOx?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" frameBorder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t usually review albums at full length, when it\u2019s already out in the world. But I chose to review this for many reasons, the main one being the premise.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i>Desire<\/i>, is inspired by a year-long adventure through the states in a beat-up 40-year-old RV she transformed into a tiny house with an on-board music studio. During this time, Marina had no plans in place so she busked, camped, and met many legends in unexpected places. The album represents a memento of an unforgettable journey, full of adventure and self-discovery. Each song is a stop on the road, a snapshot of a moment, an emotion, an experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>How could I resist? I have tea and biscuits.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s go.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Desire<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>This track starts off the album with percussion and brushes on a snare, this has a distinct country feel to it. Mattanja Joy\u2019s voice is beautifully reverbed making her voice sound like she\u2019s in a huge auditorium &#8211; her voice is strong enough already so this lifts her voice to the centre of the whole track.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I like how everything around the song is respectful of her voice and this becomes even more apparent at 3:26 with these<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>harmonies come in and also there\u2019s a higher voice doing a bit of a wordless solo\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Stunning.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Shout out to the drummer for using mallets on their toms.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li>California<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>This next one chugs along and the little guitar strings remind me of car horns as you whizz down the motorway. I initially thought it was the sound of a train whistle but it\u2019s not. This is how you make your instrument talk!<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>This has a driving beat it\u2019s not too fast and Mattanja Joy\u2019s voice goes between blues and country again. I\u2019m second track in and I think I\u2019m in love with her voice.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The guitar solo at around 2:08 deserves a round of applause as well as the bass at around 2:32 there\u2019s a really tasty run that happened that I had to go back to.<\/p>\n<p>This is essentially a love song about California, a love hate relationship maybe..<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Yeah that\u2019s it.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li>When Lovers Become Friends<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>This takes the tempo down a little bit\u2026 I think that\u2019s a double bass on this, and I like the warmth of the sound on it, it\u2019s got a nice little twang especially on the sliding of the notes. Mattanja\u2019s voice goes into soulful jazz territory while the guitar has a bit of distortion on the two and four of the beat, and it\u2019s a glorious sound!<\/p>\n<p>This is probably my second favourite track on the album, also the drums sound like they\u2019ve got character, I\u2019m starting to notice this is a thing where instruments have a lived in feel, it adds to the grit of the song, Willie Nelson has this beat up old guitar that\u2019s practically got holes in it that looks like it\u2019s been through the wars but boy does he make it sound good\u2026 same with Seasick Steve\u2026.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I love it!<\/p>\n<p>This kind of recalls the premise of the whole project &#8211; a 40 year old beat up car that\u2019s been transformed into a house, you\u2019re taking something old and lived in and making it into something new.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>What a concept.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li>Trouble Dear<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>\u201cBoy, look over here,<\/p>\n<p>You are trouble dear,<\/p>\n<p>You turned out a liar<\/p>\n<p>No manners and drunken choirs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wow. What a lyric.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re drawn in from the beginning. The whole arrangement of this song is well thought out, I\u2019d say this would be perfect for a Quentin Tarantino film, or maybe even Seth McFarlane who could pull off a film where the character\u2019s a loveable rogue, with that grainy western feel.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I could just imagine this being on that soundtrack, and just mapping out the story of a legend who\u2019s misunderstood, he could also be mythical\u2026<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s strange how a song could conjure up such a vivid image of someone straight away just on first hearing it.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Definitely one for the music supervisors.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"5\">\n<li>Lost Souls<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Oh.<\/p>\n<p>Now we go into acapella territory here at the beginning, Just the first 20 seconds before Mattanja is joined by a guitar and strings\u2026 This is emotional! The guitar riff is hypnotic, and it stays with you, but for me it\u2019s Mattanja\u2019s voice, what a performance she turns out here!<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>She sings the wordless adlibs at the end and I got goosebumps &#8211; it\u2019s the same thing that she did on \u201cDesire\u201d. Sometimes the words just aren\u2019t enough.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Again, drummer with mallets. Strong track!<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ol start=\"6\">\n<li>Siren Song<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Mattanja\u2019s storytelling in her lyrics are on point.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou are my John Doe,<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m just a doll in your play,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll always be strangers<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Like night and day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a song about meeting a stranger that she\u2019s known for years but doesn\u2019t truly know, she knows she doesn\u2019t belong in his world but she\u2019s still drawn to him, hence the siren\u2019s song, he will become her undoing\u2026<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Definitely in my top 3 on this album, and it\u2019s a STRONG album\u2026.<\/p>\n<p>7. Liquid Dreams\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Epic ballad to close this project out?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Of course.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Slide guitars, acoustic piano, and Mattanja\u2019s voice bluesy as ever.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>From an album filled with outstanding vocal performances, this to me wins the award for her vocals. There were standout songs in terms of songwriting and musicianship but this to me is where I got invested to say this is a fantastic album altogether.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Oh there\u2019s a Hammond organ! I heard the growl!!! You can\u2019t miss it and it rings out towards the end the final closing chord.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Just a nod to the lyrics\u2026.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLiquid sunshine<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Falling down on my face,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Slow dancing in the enchanted land,<\/p>\n<p>Slow dancing filled with dreams\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yep. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>This is avaiable on all platforms now.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Special thanks to Danielle Holian @<a href=\"http:\/\/www.libertymusicpr.com\">Liberty Music PR<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Copy-of-Mattanja-promo-photo-2023-photographer-Nol-Havens-1024x683.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6117\" srcset=\"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Copy-of-Mattanja-promo-photo-2023-photographer-Nol-Havens-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Copy-of-Mattanja-promo-photo-2023-photographer-Nol-Havens-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Copy-of-Mattanja-promo-photo-2023-photographer-Nol-Havens-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Copy-of-Mattanja-promo-photo-2023-photographer-Nol-Havens-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Copy-of-Mattanja-promo-photo-2023-photographer-Nol-Havens-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w, https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Copy-of-Mattanja-promo-photo-2023-photographer-Nol-Havens-450x300.jpeg 450w, https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Copy-of-Mattanja-promo-photo-2023-photographer-Nol-Havens-90x60.jpeg 90w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0 I don\u2019t usually review albums at full length, when it\u2019s already out in the world. But I chose to review this for many reasons, the main one being the premise.\u00a0 Desire, is inspired by a year-long adventure through the states in a beat-up 40-year-old RV she transformed into a tiny house with an on-board &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6117,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[161,118,181,129,52,303,139,31,132,30,292,37,142,140,73,150,175],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-acoustic","category-bass","category-blues","category-drums","category-guitar","category-holland","category-jazz","category-keyboards","category-lyricist","category-music","category-organ","category-piano","category-producer","category-review","category-singer-songwriter","category-songwriter","category-soul"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6116"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6118,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6116\/revisions\/6118"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}