Clubland: Matthew Carefully, Duo Fusion celebrate CD releases
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Matthew Carefully has a little bit of the magician in him.
The singer-songwriter from Ballston Lake, N.Y., usually takes the stage cradling only a plugged-in mandolin, but anyone expecting something bluegrass or traditional is in for a shock: Effects and looping pedals at his feet let Carefully and his unassuming instrument create an entire experimental rock storm, from a thumping beatbox to a dangerously fuzzed-out electric guitar.
But every magician needs a little help from his audience, and Carefully's new album, "Community Balloon," is a collection of 10 songs created from suggestions from folks on his weekly email list. Last fall he asked fans to send him anything and everything for possible song fodder, and he got it - lyrics, feelings, photos, sounds, samples and more.
Matthew Carefully celebrates the release of the new album with a show at the Basement on Friday at 8 p.m., performing on a bill with Northampton singer-songwriter Dennis Crommett (from Winterpills and his own band, Spanish for Hitchhiking).
One stunning thing about Carefully (aka Matthew Loiacono) is that he'd be a strong performer even if he just simply strummed the mandolin and sang - his voice has warmth and a surprising range, his lyrics are crafted and evocative - but with the effects and loops added in, audiences get dropped into a fascinating kind of "remix" created right in front of their eyes. The applause at Carefully's previous Valley appearances has not been the typical "polite" variety, but an actual impressed reaction.
The songs on "Community Balloon" run the gamut from fairly straightforward tunes like the haunting "Space Nurses" ("I'm just a lonely star away," he harmonizes over drum machine, sitar and banjo) to the strange "Risky Yellow Fly," which moves from jittery to dreamy and beyond.
The bright "Poughkeepsie" is a good example of how Carefully took a fan's suggestion and ran with it.
"This woman Melissa suggested that there have been many songs written about many places that she considers dull, while she didn't know of any songs about a place she found fascinating - Poughkeepsie," he said. "I found it to be a challenge on a few levels, the biggest being that I have never written a song about a specific place. The finished product features two major sections - the first, which is what I imagine the #former industrial city turned vacant by IBM' sounded like when it was in a heyday, gives way to my own limited personal experience with the city, augmented by two lyric snippets from another list member."
One of the album's real highlights is its closing song, "A Description of Things Rick Moody Could See From His Desk." It's an a cappella piece that pulses like Laurie Anderson or Art of Noise, yet the lyrics bob, dip and freeze with a rhythm that's part poem, part comedy routine.
Carefully said in an interview that he's long had a "dream of turning music on its side." "Community Balloon" and his engrossing (and personable) live performances make you happily kink your neck to take in just how unique his musical world is - and wonder, "How does he do that?" A very recommended show.
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Also pursuing their own musical path is the local twosome of guitarist Joe Belmont and flautist Sarah Swersey, aka Duo Fusion. Separately they have a large and diverse history of performance - Belmont also plays with world beat ensemble Viva Quetzal and jazz group The Fellowship of Wes, among others; Swersey has performed with symphonies across the globe and made a record of lullaby improvisations right here at home. Together, with just nylon string guitar and flute, they create music that makes room for all their experiences.
The group's self-titled debut CD has a melting pot modus operandi where compositions by Faure and Bach play off those by Miles Davis and Chick Corea, as well as traditional folk songs from various cultures filtered through pop performers like Simon and Garfunkel (Peruvian standard "El Condor Pasa") and wild surf-rocker Dick Dale (popular Greek tune "Misirlou").
The spacious recordings give each musician plenty of places to shine, like Belmont's graceful intro to Luiz Bonfa's classic "Manha de Carnaval" and Swersey's dizzyingly nimble runs that punctuate "Entr'Acte."
Duo Fusion celebrates the release of its CD with a concert at the Iron Horse on Monday at 7 p.m.
