Can’t wait to see the concert

Matt Corby is an artist with a varied and interesting background, from the mundane to the extraordinary. He has worked in a Subway restaurant, toured with an evangelical gospel band and appeared in Australian Idol. He placed runner- up in the show’s fifth season in 2009, and while his sound was less conventional than his fellow contestants, his career has steadily advanced since the series finished. His 2011 EP Into the Flame reached No 3 in the Australian charts.

So far he has recorded and released five extended play albums. Those mini- albums have showcased a strong voice and ability to write emotive and personal songs. He is perhaps best known for his song Brother, where he alternated between a soaring falsetto and a growl. That track won him the Australian 2012 Aria Award for Song of the Year, an award he also won in 2013 with his latest single Resolution.

This live album is more atmospheric than intimate. It is spacious and filled with crescendos and empty spaces, feats that are capably initiated and delivered by his backing musicians. Their sound works well with Corby’s vocals and his bluesinspired guitar playing, and it seems more of a collaborative performance.

The songs themselves are less structured than studio recordings. At times Corby slips in parts of other songs, as he does in Lay You Down, singing the refrain from Chris Isaak’s song Wicked Game, ‘‘ I don’t want to fall in love’’.

Four of the five songs are over five minutes long, with Lay You Down clocking in at almost 10 minutes, and it is an achievement that the performances don’t ever feel forced or a struggle to maintain the listener’s interest. This is largely due to the band being able to create ebbs and flows in the musical journey they create.

Corby has often been compared to Jeff Buckley for their similarly evocative vocal styles. Never before has this comparison been more apparent and more apt than with this live EP, as his falsetto vocal parts are incredibly similar to Buckley’s.

Corby is even more adventurous in one track, perhaps showcasing a future musical direction, scat singing, beatboxing and looping vocal harmony parts in Trick of the Light. The song blends disparate musical elements and includes some masterful jazz flute, and while it is very different from his earlier material, it is the real highlight of the release.

Live on the Resolution Tour showcases a compelling reason to buy a ticket to a Matt Corby concert. A recording like this is the best advertisement for an artist, and could only be improved with an accompanying DVD of a live show.