With a sound something like Tom Odell, Billy Joel, James Bay, and Elton John all rolled into one, New York City singer songwriter Matteo Scher certainly promises ‘Something Good’ with his new EP, set for release on 15 June.
Laid back piano led tracks, opening with the very “New York” sound of the appropriately named ‘New York And Me’ (including at the end, an extract from ‘New York New York’), ‘Something Good’ is both easy on the ear and earworming at the same time.
Title track, ‘Something Good’, is where Matteo is at his best, channelling Billy Joel so well you can imagine the Piano Man himself playing this at the Madison Square Garden. Sad and sober, yet truly romantic, the track is matched well by both Schoer’s vocals and the gentle instrumentation of strings accompanying him on piano.
‘Forget’ is a more up-tempo – slightly – number, which with its “train-like” rhythm, and Scher’s vocals starts off reminding us of Harry Nilsson’s ‘Everybody’s Talkin”, from his ‘Aerial Ballet’ album, in 1969. About halfway through however he changes pace and we’re thinking of another Harry, this time, Harry Connick Jr. Although he is still only 20 years old, Matteo is quite a versatile singer, and clearly has a bright future ahead of him.
The last track we listened to, ‘Painkiller’, is all torch song, as we’re transported in song to a seedy, dimly lit winebar, where we can visualise Scher playing with a tips jar on the lid of his piano. Again, it’s obvious where his inspirations – and good ones too – has come from: we can hear Billy Joel and Elton John with every note.
Of course, talent like Matteo Scher’s hasn’t gone unrecognised, and the artist has performed at Hungry Hallow Music Festival, which featured The Chapin Sisters among its headliners. He’s also played at such iconic NYC venues at Rookwood Music Hall, The Bitter End, and The Bowery Electric.
‘Something Good’ is Matteo Scher’s first fully produced EP, and follows an album recorded with his sister in 2013 (the Schers are a very musical family), as well as an EP, ‘Chasing Stars’, recorded in 2015 with guidance from his mentor, Alicia Keys. He is currently studying music business at Baruch College.
Find out more about this very talented artist on his official website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
‘New York And Me’ is currently available to download from Bandcamp. You can listen to it here:
https://soundcloud.com/matteo-scher/matteo-s-new-york-and-me-mastered-22417?in=matteo-scher/sets/demos/s-FHcr0
