Matthew Dear – Bunny

A broad, creative return that leaves an impact...

Matthew Dear has assumed many forms over the years, known as DJ, dance-music producer, experimental pop artist, music maker and father, among the thick of characterizations.

His fifth studio album 'Bunny' – out now on Ghostly International and it plays like a portrait of all that the man behind the music stands for. Writing, producing and mixing all of his own work, Matthew Dear chases experimental themes, loops, and interludes of eccentric bass lines and multifaceted melodies in this new collection.

Sitting proud like the Mad Hatter at the head of the table, he allows 'Bunny' to lead us down the rabbit hole of music making. Bunny boasts a range of disjointed pop elements, electronic embellishment, lo-fi indie vibes, and all of that good shiny stuff that in general catches our ears.

Accompanied by Matthew’s special brand of baritone vocals, the album drifts from the ethereal in opening track 'Bunny’s Dream' and 'Bunny’s Interlude' to the gritty reality of tracks like 'Echo', while interlaced with the buoyantly glistening of that found in 'Duke Of Dens' and 'Kiss Me Forever'.

In the midst of bouncing from the lightweight and otherworldly to the more visceral, there are two tracks with which we are already familiar. Having released back in 2017, both 'Modafinil Blues' and 'Bad Ones' (feat. Tegan and Sara) nestle deeply into the cavernous space like two gems. The former moody and almost languid to the touch, and the latter a polished piece of nostalgic synth-pop.

'Bunny' in its entirety is quintessentially disparate, a fleeting repertoire of the avant, and a keeper of both the nostalgic and the progressive. Matthew Dear is unlike the rest, as he invites us into his cathedral of sounds, and will undoubtedly ‘stick around in the house of your mind’ – he has certainly stuck around in ours.

Of his new creation, he says, “So here is my album. Already a fading stamp on the passport of a time traveller. I do it all for you. I couldn’t quit if I wanted to. I’m only getting started.”

7/10

Words: Jill Guthrie

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