‘Nightclubbing’ from the debut album Stairgazing by Matt Edible & The Obtuse Angels is built on a slowed down version of the violin melody from ‘Whatever’ by Oasis. Said band is clearly a big influence – why, there’s even a song called ‘Better Than Oasis’ on the new Matt Edible & The Obtuse Angels album The Optometrist. However, the Beatles-pilfering Mancs have arguably left a smaller imprint on the Edible sound and outlook than fellow Hullensians The Housemartins, and that’s not just because the latter wrote the slightly more well-known celebration of revelry ‘Happy Hour’.
Speaking of influences, ‘Hull’ is derived from the old Scandinavian word ‘hul’, which means ‘deep one’. On The Optometrist, Matt Edible proves he is capable of being both a deep one and a very silly one (if you are an optometrist, you’ll see what I just did there). The title track combines crunching guitar à la The Hold Steady with an immediate reference to The Fall and a chorus about optimism. Following track ‘Cancelled (A Love For All Seasons)’ is about a lack of follow-up – a doomed relationship is conveyed through an extended telly metaphor, with the mood lightened by the frankly hilarious lyrics “It’s not like it was all so bad / The scenes of an adult nature were some of the best I’ve ever had.” Edible’s delivery of the chorus sounds like Longpigs’ Crispin Hunt, and the lyrics seem to have also been made in Sheffield – if Jarvis did stand-up, it might sound like sections of The Optometrist.
The mirror shoes in ‘Mirror Shoes’ are in fact boots “made for stomping so I’m gonna stomp all over for you.” This isn’t a very nice message, but it did Nancy Sinatra no harm, and you’ll enjoy the distorted riff and daft glam escapism. The swaggering catchy chorus on ‘The Idiot’ should be as ubiquitous as The Fratellis’ ‘Chelsea Dagger’ was 18 years ago. The track is not a tribute to the Dostoevsky novel, but rather a satirical takedown of the science-denying morons that seemed to proliferate during the pandemic as fast as the Covid-19 virus itself. Don’t let this specific set of circumstances put you off singing ‘The Idiot’ chorus in workplaces and traffic jams across the land.
‘Cat Piss’ is an almost-8-minute epic that begins with Thom Yorke-like organ and veers into gladatior-about-to-enter-ampitheatre guitars, as was the hallmark of Texan noise mongers …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. ‘Dog Dirt’ actually mentions cat piss, and would have perfectly soundtracked a scene in The Inbetweeners where Simon is sulking about being dumped by Carli. Or something. ‘Triage’ mixes the macabre (“a severed hand in the parking space”) with the heartfelt (“you triaged my sadness”). ‘Better Than Oasis’ is a love song not a stupendously bold boast – “We’re Be Here Now when we’re apart / But together we’re albums one and two.” Album closer ‘The Big Reveal’ is, in Edible’s own words, “a big song about big data with a big band”, and it contains yet more brilliant lyrics such as “If they scrolled down a little further they’d see the world is much more / Than the one they’re told they want because it always sold so well before.”
The next Matt Edible & The Obtuse Angels album could be about AI or climate breakdown or why chippy chips are so good. It’s up to you to judge whether they’re better than Oasis, but if you don’t like The Optometrist, you need to get your ears tested as well as your eyes.
The Optometrist is out now on vinyl, CD or digital download via Bandcamp / Rough Trade / Norman Records, or stream in all the usual places here.
Matt Edible & The Obtuse Angels: Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp
Review by Neil Laurenson
Photograph by Tom Atkin Photography
Keep up to date with all new content on Joyzine via our
Facebook | Bluesky | Instagram | Threads | Mailing List