Brighton, MA

Album Review

Matthew Kerstein, formerly of the Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, here resurfaces with a new band name, Brighton, MA (his birthplace), on a six-song, 32-minute EP that is wildly ambitious. Kerstein is never afraid to wear his influences on his sleeve; the anthemic lead-off track "Bet You Never Thought" sounds like Ian Hunter covering David Bowie's "Heroes," and Hunter and Bowie's primary antecedent Bob Dylan often comes to mind as well. Indeed, "Ballad for Cool Hand" sounds for much of its running time like what Dylan might have sounded like singing "Chimes of Freedom" with a Beatles for Sale arrangement. But Kerstein doesn't stay in 1964. Before the song's end, he has introduced a trombone theme, played by bassist Matt Priest, and the track comes to a close with an a cappella choral section. That is typical of the kind of unusual arranging the songs enjoy. Kerstein brings in a violin and a cello on three tracks, and he enjoys changing tempos to keep things interesting. Closing track "Horseracing" even boasts an apocalyptic crescendo with a musical car-crash climax out of "A Day in the Life." The arrangements are useful to vary the sound of Kerstein's simple, samey melodies and add flavor to his husky, world-weary voice, but they do not interfere with an appreciation of his wordy, poetic lyrics. By whatever name he chooses to operate under, Kerstein is an emerging singer/songwriter in an established style who is well worth watching.