As we've just celebrated the 20th anniversary of Semtex by The Third Eye Foundation, its creator, Matt Elliott, is back with his 7th album under his own name, the aptly titled The Calm Before. Under the attentive ear of producer David Chalmin (Angélique Ionatos, Gaspar Claus & Pedro Soler, Shannon Wright), as on his previous opus, the intimate Only Myocardial Infarction Can Break Your Heart, and still accompanied by Jeff Hallam (Dominique A) on double bass and Raphaël Séguinier (Hindi Zahra, Emilie Simon) on drums, Matt offers us five new tracks here in 43 minutes. The whole reveals meticulous work on both composition and lyrics. Of course, we find the virtuosity of his folk guitar playing influenced by music from Mediterranean or Eastern European countries, and tracks starting intimately and ending in noise hurricanes. But here, it is the overall precision that increasingly impacts the listener with each listen. For The Calm Before is undoubtedly his most minimalist album. It is also the most elegant in its arrangements. The result is a heavy and visceral, yet strangely familiar and reassuring atmosphere. A cornerstone in the byways of contemporary folk music that the artist explores? Time will tell.
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