The Fire

Time to prove superiority

Should you take a look at the cities where Matt Cardle was making his second album, London, Toronto, Los Angeles, you may even suspect that the man, while doing the music work, was hiding from somebody or something at the same time. However, only thing the British pop star could be hiding from was his fan army, which was growing immensely after the arrival of his first long player, Letters, and the subsequent massive tour. The winner of the popular UK TV show The X Factor, Matt could certainly count on a warm welcome for his first album, which is a guaranteed thing for those who walked the path of glory paved by the almighty television. A real test arrives after a while, when the newly born favorite has to move on proving that all those epithets, titles and comparisons were lavished for the right reason. Matt seems to be ready for that. He co-wrote almost each of the tracks on his new album, found enough courage to take up its production and, moreover, played a few instruments. He called the new record The Fire.

Personal life is a bottomless source of inspiration

Seeking for more space for his song-writing, Matt Cardle made quite a risky move as he decided to leave a major label that released Letters, and signed up for a smaller one that did not confine his with restrictions. Having gone through the ending of a long and passionate affair, the musician had no problems looking for new ideas and inspiration. The opener of The Fire, an energetic song called It’s Only Love states that to be happy you do not have to fall in love at all. This optimism is replaced by resentment and even anger in the title track. The Fire’s rough riffs grumble while Matt reminds optimists that not all expectations are bound to come true in a relationship. After For Every Heartbreak, another tune of this dynamic kind, the set makes a swift turn towards a more reflective and slower music. Water is truly a sad song about a great loss. When guitars fade and the drumkit calms down, we are given the key to Matt’s emotions as his voice unfolds in all its beauty. And the best proof to that is the gorgeous All That Matters.

The Fire is a very special album in Matt Cardle’s career

The closing part of The Fire is a big story in itself. Lately is essentially an illustration of what is going on in Matt Cardle’s heart and mind right now. The musician is gradually getting over the ordeal of a breakup and even wants to write bright, encouraging music, the one that sounds in this track. And, of course, the final piece, an amazing bonus in shape of the cover of The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face completes the set and makes it clear that next time Matt will find other issue to discuss in his lyrics. Altogether. We have a very solid album with a leaning to an original and extremely emotional indie rock. It has no brain-cracking texts or revolutionary instrumental parts. Instead, everything is perfectly balanced here, including pleasant soft guitars, upbeat rhythms and, naturally, Matt’s adorable singing as a reminder that the man rightfully topped the young talent show. The Fire proves to be largely a personal, autobiographical record, and an artist can not have many of this kind in his career, which automatically makes it a special offer. In the meantime, the quality of this work shows us all that Matt has a good picture of where to go and he is not going to stay satisfied with early achievements.