Dorsey, Matt: Let Go

Solo releases are for doing that ‘something else’ and that’s exactly what Let Go from Sound of Contact and PROGJECT man Matt Dorsey does. The expected progressive rock that you might have anticipated more often than not shelved in favour of something more song based, something more longing and something more heartfelt. That’s not to say that there are no licks, tricks or chops on display here - I mean Dorsey is at times flanked by Jonathan Mover and Marco Minnemann on drums and Dave Kerzner on keyboards, but in general the main protagonist is in reflective mood. Although as befitting a selection of sounds that feels very personal to the chap creating them, there are also tracks where Dorsey goes at it 100% alone.

The opening trio of songs also find Dorsey in quite scintillating form, “Castles Made Of Sand�, “Compromise� and “Waiting For The Fall� combining intricate passages with smooth melodies and hugely singable choruses that you simply can’t resist. In fact, I find myself singing ‘waiting for the faaaaaaaaallllllll’ over and over for days after listening to this album. However, as things move forward from there, so this release seems to lose steam, it’s singular, mid-paced attack becoming tiresome as the sprinklings of chorus gold-dust become short in supply. The results, to me, begin to fall flat and trudge by without leaving their mark. Suddenly Dorsey’s voice feels a little lifeless, like his worries started to win this battle, even when a Devin Townsend down-trodden up-beatness inflects “Echo�.

Nothing here is bad and every time I’ve put this CD in player I begin by wondering what the issues were that I encountered last time. Then those opening three tracks slip out of sight and my attention begins to wander and unfortunately never really comes back into focus until Let Go has ended and been, apart from those trio of glorious choruses, largely forgotten.

Track Listing
1. Castles Made Of Sand
2. Compromise
3. Waiting For The Fall
4. Man
5. Impossible Friends
6. Echo
7. Let Go
8. Dangerous

Added: April 4th 2023
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Matt Dorsey @ bandcamp
Hits: 481
Language: english

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