Released this past Friday, the new album from Beirut’s Karl Mattar is an absolute beauty, albeit a heartbreaking LP. Recorded and mixed by Fadi Tabbal at the legendary Tunefork Studios. Mattar previously recorded music as Interbellum, a project which blended several different genres to create lush soundscapes, mixing folk and garage rock. With “The Weather of the World” this will be Mattar’s first release under his own name with a different approach to his compositions. Similar to Boond! who featured last week, this new album has been shaped by the israeli invasion in the south of Lebanon and the continual affects of their aggression against the country and the people who live there.
Mattar’s lyrics are poetic and paint vivid pictures of his experiences and emotions first hand. The tracks Harbor and Perpetual Rain are great examples of the trauma these continued attacks have brought to the psyche of Lebanese: “Have you ever heard the sound of bombs / Across the water / Killing sons and daughters / It sounds like waves crashing / Into a harbor”. Mattar’s work on guitar is superb and brought out as much emotion as did his vocals and lyrics. While not a complete acoustic album (piano, synths and drums are woven in throughout the record), the work Mattar has accomplished here is nothing less than brilliant.
“The Weather of the World” can be found here
Leave a Reply