AAA Backstage Archive

Single Review: Matt Corby "Resolution"

For the past few decades, Triple J has long been the opponent to everything plastic in Australian music. Only a few years ago did former presenter Jay Whalley (as part of Frenzal Rhomb) summarise national TV talent shows with “Fuck the lot of em!” and there was a general consensus of shows of this nature being cynical cash grabs of manipulation.

However, within the last few years a number of Idol alumni such as Lisa Mitchell and Brooke Addamo (Owl Eyes) have broken through on Triple J, propelling them to further national stardom and success. This could be excused – both Mitchell and Addamo were eliminated early in the finals of their respective series, so this can easily be forgotten or ignored. But when 2007 runner-up Matt Corby released his 2010 EP Into the Flame, which featured the hit “Brother”, indie audiences around Australia rose up and made this thing a 5x platinum hit.

Like Mitchell and Addamo, Corby ticks all the right boxes for indie success – he’s non-threateningly attractive, got a swish haircut, has a heap of falsetto sing-a-longs and he’s pretty handy with the guitar. How he got welcomed so warmly onto Triple J airwaves in the first place proves two things: firstly, audiences have annoyingly short memories; and secondly, that indie music is now purely an aesthetic concept, and not an ideology that artists lived by to attain authenticity. This is why Corby is rated so disparately from other successful Idol contestants like Guy Sebastian and Jessica Malboy, even though they went through the same fucking channels.

And here we are in 2013, with the release of Corby’s new song “Resolution”, and even if it shouldn’t everyone will compare this to “Brother”, whether it’s favourable or not. The song is a slow and sparse indie arrangement of piano, drums and acoustic guitar that has Corby wailing that a girl will be his resolution, and probably getting it. It’s all very pretty and nicely in key – Corby doesn’t overdo his obvious vocal talent and the arrangement is kept in check by Charlie Andrew (Alt-J) and Mocky (Feist and Peaches). There is something missing from “Resolution” however that made “Brother” so stirring. So while the latter reached huge and unabashed crescendos, this latest effort plateaus in the middle, barely able to get over the next musical ridge. What’s even more troubling is that it’s all forgotten within five minutes, whereas “Brother” had a slightly irritating earworm that meant you could go days listening to those initial oo-ohs.

It’s unfortunate that Corby should take the brunt of this tirade against Triple J’s backflip on Australian Idol – this writer is sure he is a lovely guy in person, and it’s obvious he has immense talent. However, when he has taken up the mantle of independent artists after getting ten times the mainstream exposure of his other compatriots, he opens himself up to these arguments against him. That being said, what’s more troubling is the general listening public’s viewpoint on being ‘indie’ – if independent music doesn’t represent artists finding new and alternative ways to release music and build a fanbase, what the hell does it stand for anymore? You tell me.

Thomas Gillespie - AAA Backstage