A shame this jewel didn't appear on my radar 23 years ago when it was initially issued, but I still have the rest of my life, right? Simply put, what I had been missing out on over the intervening decades were two prime cuts of the most resplendent jangle pop that I'm convinced I'll ever hear. While I have precious few details to offer on
Matt Allison himself, the a-side "Hard Look at Perfect" finds the man in question aided and abetted by none other than two gentleman who've put more than a sizable stamp on the genre,
Paul Chastain and
Rik Menck of Velvet Crush renown. "Hard Look..." is carried aloft on the wings of tingly, hard-strummed chords (most likely emanating from a Rickenbacker) slamming head-on into a delirious wall of melody. Though "Hard Look..." is the superior cut here, the more subdued "Heyday" mines a vein that's not greatly removed, only Matt is all by his lonesome on this one. For what it's worth, this probably ranks as one of the best fifty singles in my collection. Another great call from the Bus Stop label.
A. Hard Look at Perfect
B. Heyday
https://rapidshare.com/files/2301123905/mattallison7.rar
