Less Chicken Soup And More Soul Needed

Is there an easier target for atheist cynics than Matisyahu? Probably not as far as pop music is concerned. That gives me an odd sense of sympathy for the only suburbanite turned hasidic Jew reggae-rap star in existence because throughout his Shattered EP, a precursor to his upcoming album Light, it’s hard to say that Matisyahu does not - in fact — believe and mean everything he says.

Unfortunately, like the vast majority of spiritually-guided musicians, all we get for his passion is typical, big-picture, low-vocabulary mid-tempo message songs, like ‘I Will Be Light’. Matisyahu shows some signs of trying to expand his sound on ‘Two Child One Drop’ - a six-minute song that moves through ideas like a suite - but doesn’t offer much of a hook outside of the usual, “World is dying, children are morning the father … the world keeps turning,” stuff. Then there’s ‘So Hi So Lo’, a U2 sized rock number which answers the question, “what would it sound like if Matisyahu guested on a Coldplay song?”

Perhaps a more sympathetic listener will give Matisyahu points for trying to mix things up musically. The main problem with modern spiritual music is the way it settles for mediocrity, letting the sermon be the driving force. Matisyahu is a long way from making a Seven Swans, but even in Shattered’s own blandness, there is an odd sense of promise that maybe he will see the light.

Andrew Mitchell