Matthew And the Atlas

I am a sucker for few things in this world. Could count them all on one hand. And I'm not talking about the hand that has that extra pinkie growing from the second knuckle; the regular ol' boring hand is the one to which I do refer.

Those things include a gentleman buying me a drink (knowing awkward conversation is inevitable), kittens (knowing I have to clean up their poop), Brit accents (knowing they're oft behind less than exceptional teeth) and Ray Lamontagne (knowing that, well, there's no mutual interest).
Disclaimer: There's one more, but I'm not telling you every goddamn thing. Sucker-ing may change on a daily basis. Restrictions apply.

Should any of those be present in combination, exceptional suckerage ensues. Matthew Hegarty, pillar of Matthew and the Atlas, could very well get me there. With a voice soaked in rye whiskey and singed with clove cigarettes. Gritty blues delivery and salt on the heartbreak wound lyrics. A purported shy stage presence till he opens his mouth to bring the crowd to a hush. Hegarty could be Ray TheMountain's Brit brother from another mother.

His April EP, To The North, follows a tour supporting Mumford & Sons and taken part of the Communion Compilation. Now it's more pubs and lochs and grey seas the rest of 2010.

I am certainly sucked in.

Matthew And the Atlas // Within the Rose