Narc. Magazine Online
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Dominic Stephenson enjoys a stripped-back and hypnotising show courtesy of Mattiel Brown
Image by Dominic Stephenson
Watching Cosmic Crooner is initially a perplexing affair. The Amsterdam-based balladeer looks like Walton Goggins cosplaying Alex Turner, with a whiff of Austin Powers and equipped only with a sole reel-to-reel tape recorder, it’s soon clear he’s also an aficionado of 60s baroque pop and orchestral rock. After serenading a man who had spent the first half of the set texting while holding his hand, the Crooner knocked out an inch-perfect cover of Scott Walker’s Jackie with just an acoustic guitar. Part satirical comedy act, part opulent pop, in the space of 20 minutes I went from thinking, “Who the fuck is this guy?”, to finding this one-man show strangely endearing.
Having listened to the distinctive deep notes of Mattiel Brown for a number of years, there was no way I was going to miss her first appearance in Newcastle. With no idea what to expect, it was surprising to see her step out on to the sparse Cluny stage accompanied by just guitarist Laurence Hammerton and a drum machine. An acoustic rendition of Baby Brother had the senses tingling, before Brown ramped it up a notch with a strew of tunes from 2022’s Georgia Gothic, the opaque Americana of Blood in the Yolk being the stand-out. We were assured we’d definitely never heard new song Heartbreak Heatwave before, a timely antidote of her disdain for LA, before she mustered a whirling psychedelic nebula on Victim For My Love, the gravitational pull of the evening and a hypnotising highlight. Vivid imagery had been curated for each tune and the Atlanta figurehead was patently appreciative of the turn-out for her first show here, yielding a wholesome brew of her garage, indie and folk touches. Wrapping up with a couple of fan favourites in the rousing Count Your Blessings and the sun-kissed Keep The Change, this stripped-back presentation culminated in a pretty magical outing.
