Spending the six years since his solo masterpiece Hospital Music in self-reflective throwback mode (a live album and two discs of sub-par 90s re-hashes), the hero of my teenage years returns with something at least fun. It’s upbeat (“Via Dolorosa”, “We’re Long Gone”), pensive (“Garden of Knives”) and Pixies-esque (“So Close”) which isn’t the worst thing. A rock record fleshed out with a little piano and synth that doesn’t feel as though he’s trying to sound like his MuchMusic heyday (with the exception of the semi-cheese of “Hey Hell Heaven” - I’m not sure exactly where that one fits). It all closes with a classic epic (“Letters in Wartime”) that is less predictable and more comforting. Welcome back, Matt.

Published in Volume 68, Number 4 of The Uniter (September 25, 2013)