| Genre | Alternative |
| Year | 2011 |
| Label | Universal Music Australia |
| Run Time | 18:20 |
| Favourite Track | Untitled |
| Score | 9/10 |
EP Thoughts
Matt Corby, an Australian soulful pop singer, grew up in the church before auditioning for Australian Idol as a young man. After finishing third, he stepped away from the spotlight to explore himself and develop a richer sound. Prior to this, he had released two full EPs and a double single. However, “Into The Flame” is where I believe he truly found his voice and achieved public fame.
The opening track’s falsetto, is like a good night kiss on the cheek, not only delights the ears but also showcases his raw talent and vocal range. The contrast between the army drill-like drum and his angelic vocals builds tension, only to be interrupted by his softness in the opening lines “Sleep Now Under My Skin / Make Sure You Try To / Conjure The Wind And / Ease My Mind”. This verse paints a metaphorical picture of someone struggling and offering a safe haven, the guitar creating a dreamlike state where you feel like floating through the song. Then, you’re gently pulled back into the drill-like drum pattern and angelic falsetto.
This is where the song’s poetic justice truly shines. Like any great song, building tension creates a dynamic and uncertain atmosphere. Tension builds to surprising moments that linger in the brain, much like a piece of gum stuck to your shoe. The pre-chorus is particularly sticky, transitioning from a dreamy state of soaring to the drummer pounding on the floor toms, joined by Matt’s now chesty vocals. This deeper tone makes every word punchy and powerful. Before fully delivering his point, he adds a growl / rasp in his vocals as he sings “You Cower In The Corner / Confide In Your Father / Let It Out And Say / Let It Pass Away” sounding very frustrated. It’s as if he’s confronting someone or perhaps talking to himself in a mirror, pleading to stop hiding.
The second verse lyrics mirror the first, but this time they’re accompanied by the rolling drum roll and a piano section. This combination intensifies the feeling of talking to someone who’s not listening, like in a conversation where you double down on the topic with more gusto. The full band’s backing amplifies this intensity, and along with the same gusto in the chorus, you feel truly roweled up. This overarching sense of anger is painted throughout the song, adding to its emotional impact.
Amidst the song’s frustration, everything else fades away, leaving only his electric guitar and harmonic backing vocals. They sing, “Wait There / Pull Yourself Out Of This State, Dear / Acknowledge You Were A Fake Here / From There On, You Might Just Grow,” almost as if in moments of distress, it’s allowing you to breathe and find calm. Bringing you back to reality. This all happens before the final chorus run-through, which is personally the most emotional and thought-provoking version. The ad libs and word enhancements are so forward-thinking, culminating in the final line, “You Were Fucked Up By The Blame,” sung in a surprisingly sweet and sassy way.
In my opinion, this song as the beginning of this EP is frankly illegal. The profound emotion conveyed through these words is truly one of many reasons why I believe this EP was a stepping stone to his becoming a well-known artist.
This next song is absolutely filthy! The gain he achieves on his guitar throughout is mesmerising. He tuned his guitar to EACGCE to create a bass-heavy and balanced sound. I’ve tried for years to learn this song, and the fluid state you need to get into is incredible. What sounds so simple is actually the result of his incredible flow and natural falling into the notes. The hammer-ons and pull-offs almost blend together, creating a sense of feeling rather than knowing.
The song has a strong bluesy feel, behind him on the drums is what I call a “stumble beat”. This adds a full sense of staggering throughout the song. It provides a great foundation for Matt’s melody to become immediate. The pauses in his singing give space for the lyrics to hit hard, like when he sings “Some Sort Of Freak That Feels No Pain”. It also allows him to emphasise vowels and vocals registers, as he does when he sings “Pain”.
The crisp shine in the chorus, as the drummer transitions into the ride, creates a sense of resolution around the pleasantly uncomfortable verse before. The bands music in the verse almost felt stuck, as if the needle is sliding along the vinyl, not cemented in the grooves. Creating this “stumble beat” I mentioned, it’s very dynamic and a creative way to clearly define the start and end of verses in a song.
Rinsing and repeating the verse after the chorus pulls you right back in. This time, however, Matt adds a lot more grit to his vocals and lets you hear the run-off as he sings, creating a filthy sensation. A great example is when he sings “The Cold Seeps Right Into Your Vein” at the end of his falsetto on “Vein”. Instead of simply cutting the note, you hear him run back down the register and add a little “Urgh” at the end of the note. This almost disgusting notion in your mind makes you feel like you’re truly experiencing the filth.
Frankly, I don’t mean this lightly. The sexist section of the song is the intermission into the outro. It’s the guitar riff that’s all hammer-ons and pull-offs, which has been the bane of my musical playing so far. It’s just him falling down the top four strings. His guitar volume is so high that tapping the strings as he falls creates the sound and this riff you hear. This is accompanied by his ad-libs and the ride of the drums, really showcasing the smoothness of his playing. Then, the drummer switches up the intensity and starts his deep floor tom pattern on the kit, building into a final climax. Matt then starts repeating “Somebody There Will Be A Revolution” over and over again, with a massively distorted mix over his vocals. His vocals build up to almost screaming, demanding to be heard and understood. Finally, the intro guitar riff repeats and slowly fades out, with an organ fading into the background. Absolute class of a song.
“Untitled” is a song I adored from the moment I heard it. My mother would even tell me to pick a new one. It was the song I spoke to Matt Corby about when I met him almost a decade ago. He shared a story about why he never titled it, but I feel like it’s not my story to tell. However, the emotions and events that led him to write it are so evident in the lyrics, his vocal control and emotion. The overarching theme of sadness, depression, grief, hurt and disbelief is incredibly powerful. What I’ll share is that most of the song was written in the evening, which really shows how intense these emotions are and were at the time of writing it.
Musically, this song immediately pulls at your heartstrings. The gorgeous “Ooh” notes, harmonising with the guitar riff, are layered with a solid bass that creates a powerful emotional impact. It evokes a sense of longing and sadness, drawing you into the song. The opening verse is particularly striking and powerful: “So I threw your letter into the flame / And watched the fire regain / And these words have done / Nothing for you / As I did not read them through / Now turned to ash in the flume.” This simple yet effective storytelling paints a vivid picture of heartbreak and misery, while also conveying a pervasive sense of hurt and anger.
Matt’s vocal is masterfully reverb-drenched, lifting it from sounding monotone and infusing it with life. The transition from his chest voice to his head voice during the pre-chorus is particularly sweet, and the surrounding music enhances the emotional impact of his singing. The 12-beat ride cymbal followed by a closed high hat for 12 beats accentuates the importance of each word sung during the high hat moments. Leading into the most thought provoking section of the song.
This chorus not only lyrically makes my body shiver and my eyes water to read it. Perhaps it’s because throughout my life I’ve experienced similar feelings of being lost and betrayed. However, the musical choice here is truly magical. By removing everything but the essential elements, adding a female vocal harmonising, and then simplifying the guitar section to a two-pluck with a single note on the bass and another on the high end, the song stops you dead in your tracks. It compels you to lean in and listen intently, only to be struck by some of the most haunting lyrics: “Don’t You Fret, I’ll Find My Way / Carefully Walking From The Devil’s Plane / And I Know Why You Did Not Follow Me / Pride Swallowed Me Then Led Me Astray.” I can’t even begin to imagine the mental fortitude it must have taken for Matt to delve so deeply into his own psyche and craft those four lines. His raw honesty about his life is a true artistic achievement. This is something artists often don’t receive enough credit for, which makes such beautiful songs so universally impactful and relatable.
Soaring back into his “Ooh” this time with the full band behind him, not just the bass. The second verse is deeply introspective. You can hear the frustration in his voice as he adds more power to his chest singing about this self-realisation. The lyrics convey how the man he’s become isn’t who he once was. As he articulates, “And Now The Dark In Me Has Now Seen The Day,” it’s clear he’s writing this song from a difficult period in his life. He’s looking back at the man he once was and yearning to be him again. The lyrics “And These Hands That Once Had Helped Me To Pray / They Are Limp In Utter Dismay / Oh They, Oh, They Fall In Their Disarray” shines back on the church upbringing in his life. This section also reveal the hurt in his voice and the almost disgust he feels at his own situation. It’s the one vocal cry on the word “Fall” that truly hits you with the raw emotion of the song.
The second pre-chorus builds on everything I mentioned in the first, amplifying it to match his vocal cries. His guttural performance in this chorus is pure raw talent. The placement of enhancement is impeccable; he transitions from singing “Memories” sweetly to growling “Getting Old” within ten seconds. This creates a palpable sense of the internal struggle he’s experiencing from the push and pull of his vocals. His final line of the pre-chorus absolutely smashes it out of the park, making everything before it seem like child’s play. The way he leans into the depth needed to growl “Oh, And I, I Once More Am Now” is something I’ve always wanted to master. On the first pre-chorus, he holds the final note for five beats. This time, he nearly doubles it to nine, giving the words more space to sink in and reach the listener’s mind. The band’s fade-out, allowing the listener space to think before the final run through of the chorus. With the same chorus as before, stripping it way back only to add a very subtle snare shuffle overtop this time to help move the song through to the end.
“Big Eyes” was my second song to learn on guitar. The Drop D tuning in this song is incredibly creative, making the guitar sound like it’s accompanied by a bass. The opening section, repeated as the outro, is exceptionally well-composed. It’s angelic how the Top D String or bass of the song rings out while he poetically noodles around in the high guitar notes.
This simple love song is beautifully described in a cinematic way. The storytelling sung is truly captivating. Everything builds to the choir singing behind him during the chorus. The foundation it creates deeply moved me when I first heard it; it felt so spiritual. The chorus lyrics speak of a man trying to help someone through a difficult time, emphasising his need to support them and stating, “And Darkness Is All You’ll Ever Know / If I Don’t Love You More.”
Bree Tranter’s second vocalist introduces a dynamic shift through her impressive vocal range. Before her introduction, Matt’s vocals were low, sitting comfortably within the lower register of the guitar key, creating a striking contrast with the guitar’s higher notes. Bree’s singing harmonises beautifully with the guitar’s higher register, offering a complete opposite to Matt’s performance so far. This creates a powerful sense of two lovers sharing a single perspective on the same love.
On his second run through the chorus, he sings “And Darkness Is All You’ll Ever Know” three times to really emphasise this point before settling into the song’s more essential part, the bridge. He sings: “Loveless Sorrow / Kindly Borrowed / Only Thing My / Soul’s Now Hollow.” In the context of the song, he’s been talking about trying to give someone love so they can experience the light and move away from darkness. However, his ability and desire to help them have left him feeling used or “Borrowed” and now left him “Hollow.” This section is not only beautifully sounding but also shifts the song into a new realm of storytelling / thinking.
When he repeats the chorus for the final time, the lyrics “Cause It’s Only Fair / It’s Love And War / Ooh, And Darkness Is All You’ll Ever Know / If I Don’t Love You More” could be sung still to his partner or alternatively to himself. He could be professing to himself that if he continues down this path, “Darkness Is All You’ll Ever Know.” Based off the bridge above. Either way, this song is so calming and genuinely one of my favourite songs to play on guitar.
This EP was a key part of my journey in developing a genuine love for storytelling. It also demonstrated the power of crafting something truly special with such a simple perspective. While it may not be the flashiest or most experimental, it’s raw and honest storytelling done in a very genuine way. That’s what makes this album so beautiful and what captivated me and so many others.
Track List
- Brother
- Souls A’Fire
- Untitled
- Big Eyes (feat. Bree Tranter)
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