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A triple-platinum seller, Beautiful Midnight is the album that made Vancouver's Matthew Good Band one of Canada's biggest acts. It's easy to hear why. Their post-grunge rock is burly enough to appeal to classic rock listeners, edgy enough for the alternative crowd and just arty enough for those who want some brains with their brawn. The infl
A triple-platinum seller, Beautiful Midnight is the album that made Vancouver's Matthew Good Band one of Canada's biggest acts. It's easy to hear why. Their post-grunge rock is burly enough to appeal to classic rock listeners, edgy enough for the alternative crowd and just arty enough for those who want some brains with their brawn. The influence of the Tragically Hip--the band that set the standard for AOR in Canada, for better and for worse--is obvious throughout Beautiful Midnight, especially on more introverted tracks like "Strange Days" and "Let's Get It On." What the smart-mouthed Good and his bandmates add to the recipe is straightforward punk-rock aggression and spite. "The Future Is X-Rated" is an anthemic rant about the emptiness of modern culture in which Good rages, "God damn it's deafening/wish you'd shut up about everything." "Hello Time Bomb" is similarly tense and taut, with Good and lead guitarist Dave Genn grinding out menacing riffs. Another radio hit from the disc, "Load Me Up" is a tough, driving song that somehow links the singer's feelings of contempt and alienation with a catastrophic shipwreck and a prizefight at the MGM Grand. It all gets to be a bit much after a while--Good can be an overly mannered vocalist. and he spends too much time trying to sound like a serial killer. With its limited sonic palette, MGB's music can also seem as unrelentingly grey and grim as Vancouver weather. But Beautiful Midnight stands as MGB's most successful disc, both in commercial and artistic terms. And in the album's most focused moments, Good's crankiness is far more energizing than it is enervating. --Jason Anderson
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