Matthew Barber — Ghost Notes

Dust This One Off - Album That Deserves Another Listen: Some records don't need to make a lot of noise to leave a lasting impression.

They just find their way into your collection, settle in and somehow sound better every time you come back to them. Canadian singer-songwriter Matthew Barber's Ghost Notes is one of those albums.

There's something I've always liked about Canadian songwriters. Maybe it's the long winters, the wide-open spaces or the way so many of them seem to understand that a good song doesn't need to be dressed up too much. From Gordon Lightfoot and Neil Young through to the generations that followed, there's a tradition of honest storytelling that sits somewhere between folk, country and rock & roll.
Matthew Barber belongs comfortably in that company.

I've known his music for years, and Ghost Notes is the sort of record that reminds me why I was drawn to it in the first place. It doesn't chase trends or try too hard to impress. It's built around songs, melodies and a voice that feels like it has something worth saying. There's a warmth to Barber's music, but also a little melancholy, the kind that makes you want to sit with a record rather than have it playing somewhere in the background.

Released in March 2008, Ghost Notes arrived at a time when the singer-songwriter world was getting pretty crowded. There were plenty of acoustic guitars and earnest voices around, but Barber had something that separated him from much of the pack. His songs were understated without being dull, melodic without being overly polished, and carried the sort of easy country-rock feel that reminded me of why I love artists like Jackson Browne, Neil Young and some of the quieter moments of Ryan Adams.

The album was recorded in the Canadian autumn of 2007 at The Bathouse Recording Studio, just outside Kingston, Ontario. Barber took his band into the studio for a week, with Kieran Adams on drums, Paul Mathew on bass and Dean Drouillard on guitar, working alongside engineer Ken Friesen. Barber produced the record himself, and you can hear the benefit of keeping the process relatively simple. Nothing feels unnecessarily complicated or crowded. The instruments have room to breathe, the melodies are given space and the songs are allowed to do the heavy lifting.

There's a lovely balance across the album between the more upbeat country-rock numbers and the quieter, reflective songs. One Little Piece of My Love has that easy, melodic quality that makes a song feel familiar even on the first listen, while Where the River Bends brings things back to the piano and lets Barber's voice carry the emotion. It's not a record built around big production tricks or dramatic changes of direction. Its strength is in the writing, and in the way the band understands when to play and when to leave things alone. - Exclaim Magazine

I reckon that's something we sometimes overlook when talking about great albums. Not every record needs to change the direction of music or announce itself as a masterpiece. Some simply capture a songwriter at a particular moment, with the right musicians, the right songs and a sound that feels completely natural. Ghost Notes has that quality. It sounds like people playing music together rather than a collection of parts assembled to make a record.

Barber had already released Means and Ends in 2003 and Sweet Nothing in 2005, the latter introducing more listeners to his music through songs such as Soft One. But Ghost Notes feels like an artist becoming increasingly comfortable with his own voice. There's a maturity in the songwriting and a confidence in the arrangements that doesn't need to be announced. You just hear it.

And perhaps that's why I keep coming back to records like this. Over the years I've heard thousands of albums, worked with plenty of musicians and spent a fair amount of time travelling with music playing in the car. The records that stay with me aren't always the biggest sellers or the ones everybody remembers. Quite often they're the quieter discoveries, albums that become part of your own soundtrack without you really noticing.

Ghost Notes is one of those. It's a record for a long drive, a quiet Sunday afternoon or an evening when you actually feel like sitting down and listening rather than having music on in the background. There's enough warmth in the guitars, enough movement in the rhythm section and enough honesty in Barber's voice to keep you there.

Almost two decades after its release, Ghost Notes still sounds remarkably comfortable in its own skin. It belongs to that long tradition of beautifully crafted North American songwriting where folk, country and rock & roll meet, without feeling the need to draw lines between them.

If Matthew Barber has slipped past you, this is a pretty good place to start. And if you bought the album back in 2008 and haven't played it for a while, you might be surprised by just how well it's aged.Some records don't demand your attention. They simply reward you for giving it.

Ghost Notes is worth dusting off.