Matt Forbes - Solitary Man (2017)

Bringing a bold, new sound to 'vintage pop', Matt Forbes is being hailed as the freshest voice to hit the genre in more than a decade. Since releasing his debut LP, Coulda Woulda Shoulda in October 2015, Forbes has garnered widespread critical acclaim with national television appearances on E! News, CTV's eTalk and The Marilyn Denis Show. Receiving regular airplay across the US, Canada and UK (BBC Radio 2), the album was a Critic's Pick in HELLO! Canada Magazine, featured on HuffPost Entertainment and rose to #4 on Amazon's Top 10 Chart for Hot New Releases in Vocal Jazz, where it remained for its first three months of release. Forbes' soulful vocals and unmistakable sound are wowing the millennials of his own generation with songs made popular decades before they were born.

With this successful debut under his belt, Forbes has pushed his second full-length album, Solitary Man, in even bolder, unexpected directions. Recorded over a period of six months at the iconic EastWest Studios and Igloo Music in Los Angeles and co-produced by GRAMMY award-winning producer/engineer Nicholai Baxter (La La Land and Lady Gaga's, A Star Is Born), this sophomore follow-up sees the Canadian pop crooner reunite with acclaimed British arranger, Callum Au (Jamie Cullum) and some of Los Angeles' top studio talents to redefine our perception of just what 'vintage pop' can be. Pulling from over a century's worth of pop hits, the result is a remarkable album of vocal pop that both excites and surprises.

From the explosive downbeat of the John Barry, 007-inspired, 'Cry Me A River' to the haunting strains of U2's 'With Or Without You', Forbes manages to transcend genre altogether, establishing strong musical concepts for each of the thirteen tracks and demonstrating a vocal prowess well beyond his years.

For those expecting the big, bold swing that helped put the 20-something Forbes on the map, the classic pop standards are all here, rendered in magnificent technicolor through Forbes' sheer exuberance and put over the top by Au's wildly inventive arrangements. While comparisons to the Sinatras, Connicks, and Bublés seem inevitable, there's no whiff of imitation here. As a lone baritone in a sea of pop tenors, Forbes is decidedly his own man with his own sound. And it's in those unexpected detours like the moody, folk-tinged title track, 'Solitary Man', that one gets a glimpse of the depth of Forbes' talents and where the young pop singer might take his listeners next. While this latest effort goes a long way in demonstrating that great music is truly beyond category as a revivalist of classic pop, Matt Forbes is quickly finding himself in a league all his own.

TRACKLIST

01. Cry Me A River
02. What You Won't Do For Love
03. I Wanna Be Around
04. Solitary Man
05. The One I Love (Belongs To Somebody Else)
06. With Or Without You
07. I've Got You Under My Skin
08. Rainin'
09. The Best Is Yet To Come
10. Angel Eyes
11. After You've Gone
12. Some Guys Have All The Luck (Bonus Track)
13. On Melancholy Hill (Bonus Track)