MySpace Trawl - The Matinee Orchestra

Some stuff is common knowledge and should never really be disputed by anyone. For example, when people say to us "hecklerspray provides kick arse entertainment stories" we respond by saying. “Yeah we know, you don’t have to remind us.”

See, we're modest like that. Other things that are pretty much common facts include the fact that Chelsea are only doing so well because they've literally bought success, Coke Zero is horrible and you’re going to be getting socks for Christmas. Annoyingly, some people like to mix up fact and fiction, often believing that some fiction is true. In our case, this comes in the form of bands sending us spam links to their poorly designed websites and MySpace pages. They tell us that they’ve browsed our profile (yeah, right) and think we’d like their sound because they're a hybrid of new wave power pop meeting early post punk sounds. This load of apparently randomly put together words hurt our brains. Instead of being overly complicated, we just prefer simple straight forward creations. Like this weeks act, The Matinee Orchestra. 

Before we begin, let’s just kill a common misconception that many people might have latched onto with one of the words in the band's name. Orchestra. Fear not, fellow heckler - the word orchestra does not necessarily mean the band is comprised of 104 members like a traditional orchestra is made up of. The Matinee Orchestra may use the sounds that a typical orchestra has - woodwind, brass, percussion and strings - but it's comprised of just one person, Andrew Hodson. 

So we’ve already established that The Matinee Orchestra is not really an orchestra. It’s just a name. Whilst it does include the sounds of an orchestra, we really shouldn’t heavily label anyone as it's just a loose-fitting name. It's more the sound of music for the post-laptop generation of music lovers. Many different styles of music can be found in the Hodson's songs. If you want it in a nutshell, it's an experimental sound. Different strokes (no pun intended) of musical genres can be found while digesting the songs available on The Matinee Orchestra's MySpace page. Electronics, folk, traditional instruments and vocals are all fused together to create a sound that can one minute leave you in a state of euphoria or will have you singing along to the simple and effective lyrics.  

Take the first track for example. Run For Cover (Its Going To Rain) begins with a gentle acoustic sound, before adding the vocal, “Gotta run for cover, it is going to rain.” Not exactly breaking the boundaries of songwriting, but adding anything more would just kill the vibe of the song. It’s one of those lyrics which is so good because we’ve subconsciously thought of it before when we’ve been out. Maybe our readers from nicer countries will have to use some empathy here, but the feeling that it's about to rain is a pretty common one here in the UK, regardless of the season. We’ve actually come to have the song leap into our mind whenever we see a grey cloud grace the sky. We bet if Michael Fish was still on the TV he’d be loving this song too. And brilliantly enough, it’s up for download, too. Hoorah. 

There’s an almost childlike innocence with the song Imagination of a Watermelon. The floaty start conjures up images of closing your eyes and getting away with everything that around you. While the song can’t make this dream come true, it’s probably the closest thing you’re going to get to find some genuine peace in a song. In a musical world where everything currently has to be heavy and loud, it's good to see that music is being produced that can act as the calm before the storm.  

So what have we learnt today then, kids? Let’s have a rewind: 1) You can have Orchestra in your band name and still be cool, 2) Orchestras aren’t just for the elderly, 3) The Matinee Orchestra are far from shit. "Oooooooh," you might say, "who else thinks they're good apart the good people of hecklerspray?" Well, the folks at Radio 1 also agree that The Matinee Orchestra have made a special record. You want proof?: “A wonderful album that sort of sounds like Sigur Ros meeting Mum and deciding to move to England and go acoustic. File under gorgeous.” - Chris Coco, BBC Radio 1. 

Convinced yet? You should be. Go have a listen.

Read more: 

Matinee Orchestra MySpace page