Aqualung rocks out
Singer-songwriter Matt Hales storms the Chicago Metro on March 4, 2006
By Elizabeth Rhodes
Published: March 17th, 2006 | 5:38pm
By the time the first song, "Left Behind," was over, it was clear that Aqualung has embarked on his "I Rock, Really I Do" tour. London-based singer-songwriter Matt Hales — aka Aqualung — is touring in support of Strange and Beautiful, his U.S. debut that merges material from his two U.K. releases. Someone evidently told him that Americans like rock, so he should turn up the distorted guitar and keep the bass and drums pounding. Little does Hales know that eager fans were patiently waiting in a long line outside the Metro at 11:30 p.m. in the Chicago winter just to hear him sweetly sing (all together now), "What a feeling in my soul, love burns brighter than sunshine."
Aqualung exploded in Britain after a VW Beetle commercial featured the piano-driven unrequited love song "Strange and Beautiful (I'll Put A Spell On You)." Now Hales is trying to make a dent in the United States, and the outlook is good. James Blunt's delicate hit single "You're Beautiful" proves that Americans have a lingering soft spot for pale English men singing forlorn balladry. If anything, that's the latest stereotypical British rock sound (wait and see if the Arctic Monkeys change everything).
Although his singles may fit the stereotype, Hales has the songwriting talent — composing his first symphony at age 16 — and consistently gorgeous Rufus Wainwright meets less quirky Thom Yorke vocals to justify his sticking around.
Strange and Beautiful is packed with melancholy lyrics and stunning, gentle melodies with sparse arrangements. "Left Behind," one of the more hard-edged songs on the album that resembles early Radiohead, was strategically chosen for the opener. The song left little doubt that this was indeed a rock show. A traditional trio of electric guitar, bass, and drum-playing bandmates joined Hales on the fake smoke-enveloped stage lined by massive MGD bottles.
Hales' greatest fear seems to be that America will greedily take the single "Brighter than Sunshine" and push Aqualung back across the Atlantic without a thank you. To prevent this, he increased the rock in all his songs by 30 percent and removed most of the electronic atmospherics. Sometimes the makeover worked incredibly well — "Falling Out of Love" never sounded so deeply bluesy and heart wrenching.
But Hales isn't a rock star, even with his convincing cover of Queen's "Somebody to Love." He would've looked ridiculous — thank God — on "Rock Star: INXS" wearing his thick, black art student glasses, bold striped shirt, and thin jeans. When a woman screamed, "I love you!" he responded warmly "You're very kind." To requests that he strip down he shyly replied, "It's best to leave some mystery."
The juxtaposition of roaring distorted guitar choruses, verses with delicate piano, and soaring falsetto on "Good Times Gonna Come" served as the model for the entire concert - rock out on some songs, but leave "Brighter Than Sunshine" alone. Although the band brutally crashed into the fragile hit single, it still sounded beautiful. "This is a love song for you, Chicago," Hales said. He probably says that every night, but when the audience started singing along en masse he genuinely smiled, still surprised that many Americans love his gentle music.
Issue #35
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