Big Inner

For all the 40-year-old reference points, Big Inner never feels like a pastiche; it's audibly more than the sum of its influences, in the same manner as Lambchop's Nixon.

Matthew E White and his Spacebomb house band have created a brilliant debut, one that will undoubtedly have artists queueing up to be a part of this newly established project.

He's made one of the great albums of modern Americana, and one suspects that a reluctant star is born.

The music on Big Inner is so wondrous that it seems entirely obvious that we’ll always find that peace, joy and contentment in music rather than anywhere else.

Big Inner is a brilliant debut, brimming with homages to pop music’s past, whether it be Motown or Randy Newman.

White's gift on Big Inner is taking sounds created by actual southerners and turning them into figments of his musical imagination, which he bends and shapes into bottomless columns of ethereal soul.

It's totally unafraid to recall tried & trusted musical styles and creative processes that many in trendy modern circles may dismiss as old practice.

The 29-year-old summons the spirit of his namesake Barry; the sweet soul of Isaac Hayes; and Randy Newman’s contribution to the great American songbook to create a profoundly pleasing melange. 

Funneling psychedelic sounds through soulful gospel has long been a musical quest... Matthew E. White's band have nailed the gig with their first experiment.