Red Matter’s Northbound Train serves notice that the jam band scene has a new colossus striding across festival stages and beyond. This isn’t a band content with regurgitating the past glories of their betters but, instead, picking up their mantle and carrying extended multi-genre music into a promising future. The Greenwich, Connecticut-based septet serves up a dizzying potpourri of stylistic turns and dazzling instrumental performances without ever forgetting what we’re here for: songs.
Songs such as the first track “Light of the Moon” make it abundantly clear they know what they are doing. Hundreds of live performances sharpened their songwriting skills, as well, as each passage of “Light of the Moon” resounds with superior craftsmanship. Nothing is left to chance, and you’ll be hard-pressed to hear even a single excess note or word. The band’s primary lead vocalist Milo Barer has a remarkably elastic voice capable of mesmerizing listeners with its beauty or touching the soul. She does a little of both here.
She ratchets up the intensity even more with “Jokers Wild”. It’s an excellent choice for a single from this album and her connection with keyboardist/pianist Doug Knight is one of the song’s main highlights. Red Matter is just as much at home on the wrong side of the tracks as they are in the penthouse suite and “Jokers Wild” underlines their dexterity. Geoff Schneider’s guitar work is exemplary. It definitely sets the title song on fire. His pairing with rhythm/slide guitarist Paul Dunay is one of the band’s glaring strengths and they are allowed ample room to run during this bluesy blast.
“Not a Soul Around” has a Van Morrison-like musical vibe that audiences will enjoy. It’s one of two songs on Northbound Train incorporating significant horns and the addition of these elements broadens an already expansive musical palette. They team well with Milo Barer’s voice as well. “Burn Out Bright” will be a favorite for many and with good reason. It shows the band’s talent for working on a large canvas while never losing the listener’s attention. Virtually every element of the band’s sound merits exploration during the song’s eleven minutes and change running time. It’s a showcase for Barer’s vocals, as well, and she never disappoints.
“Cool My Bones” is the second to last album track. It’s the shortest cut included on Northbound Train with a sub-five minute running time, but don’t think it’s an afterthought. Red Matter works just as well in a condensed setting as they do in cinematic mode and the tightness defining “Cool My Bones” helps sharpen its lyrical message. Red Matter layers “Huddled Masses” with subtle tempo shifts and some of Geoff Schneider’s most enduring guitar work. The vocal harmonies are superb as well. It brings Northbound Train to its conclusion with a fair amount of obvious ambition without ever biting off more than it can chew. This band has plenty of talent to clear the highest hurdles and it’s a testament to their gifts that they make it sound so effortless.
Heather Savage
