'Count Your Blessings' As Mattiel Releases Stunning Debut

‘Count Your Blessings’ As Mattiel Releases Stunning Debut
4/5

“1. Develop a child within your womb (if you’re a human female).
2. Grow 4.5 inches of hair.
3. Watch the Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Extended Edition) 532 times.
4.  Read the Harry Potter series 168 times (on an average of 1.5 weeks per read through of the series).
5.  Boil 36288 rounds of corn on the cob (on an average of 10 minutes per boil).
6.  Get an average night’s rest of 9 hours 672 times.
7.  Watch a butterfly appear from a cocoon after it makes it about 25.2 times.
8. Watch a reflux reaction react about…eh 6048 times.”

These are the activities you can achieve in 9 months’ time according to the Facebook Withdrawal Experiment. It is also argued that you can LOSE YOUR MIND in those nine months and research activities you could have achieved in that time period. However, if your name is Mattiel, nine months is all you need to create a stunning debut.

Born and raised in Georgia on a farm, Mattiel found comfort in her mother’s record collection including Mary and The Monkees. Working as a designer and illustrator, she moved to Atlanta and developed her vocal style over several years- often solo singing in her car on the way to work. Her song writing calling began when she met Randy Michael and Jonah Swiley in 2014 where the group started spurting out new material. Their full-length album was written and recorded in nine months and the formula was simple, Swiley and Michael provided the instrumental compositions and Mattiel flowered them with lyrical beauty. Influenced by the likes of Andre 3000, Marc Bolan, The Staple Singers and Jack White, Mattiel has crafted the perfect spice to an incredible formula whilst her voice sweeps up gentle comparisons to Nancy Sinatra.

The sound of Mattiel’s self-titled album is something that I can’t get enough of. The refreshing record gives nods to the likes of Courtney Barnett in the form of ‘Bye Bye’ and the soul piercing vocals take front seat of driving this album’s tender characteristics. The album flows, yet each track is cohesive and distinctive enough to give enough of a punch. ‘Five and Tens’ seems more of a Jack White approach showing hints to The Black Keys whilst ‘Count Your Blessings’, despite being towards the end of the album, is the one that got me to fall in love with this artistic record.

The album is a gorgeous representation of what Mattiel is capable of and tracks such as ‘Baby Brother’ show the true, raw vintage sound that Mattiel is capable of reviving. The softness of the “ooh la la”’s that occur in the background give the album a touch of softness, as the song sound like a timeless jazz classic before the American singer throws us into her rock inspirations. Everything about this album is classy. Each song is as pleasant as the last as Mattiel swiftly and gracefully slides her way into a list of my favourites.

“Mattiel is a refreshing sound in a genre of hushed female vocalists, Her voice is a weapon, and she’s not afraid to use it”
(Taken from Bandcamp.com)

📷 Matt Foster Addington

Check Mattiel out on Heavenly Recordings