Matt Andersen

The Hammer & The Rose

Sonic Records

Matt Andersen is a singer-songwriter and guitarist from New Brunswick, Canada. In 2010 Andersen finished first in the solo/duo category at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. He is a perennial Maple Blues Award winner, and multiple winner of European Blues Awards. This is Andersen’s sixteenth full length recording. His first being his independently released 2004 “One Size Never Fits”, and his last being 2023’s “The Big Bottle of Joy”. Andersen possesses a stunning voice and is a grand songwriter. All of the songs are written or co-written by him except for one cover. The album is produced and engineered by Joshua Van Tassel at the Hard Scrabble Studios.

Andersen leads off with the title track “The Hammer & The Rose” co-written with Steve Dawson. The ensemble includes backing vocalists, keyboardist Aaron Comeau, acoustic guitarist Afie Jurvanen, and bassist Kyle Cunjak. The band is rounded out with Christine Bougie, lap-steel and acoustic guitar, and Van Tassel, drums and percussion. We get to hear Andersen’s beautiful voice as he sings “I’ve taken some chances, they’ve come up lean, half-hearted romances, came apart at the seams, I’ve taken my time, and I’ve rushed too fast, keep falling behind, to the end of the track. The longer I listen, the less that I learn, seems the further I go, the more bridges I burn, the harder I try, the harder it gets, I go on looking, but I still haven’t found it yet, it’s the give and the take, that’s how it goes, when your head is the hammer, and your heart is the rose”. Bougie plays some gentle laid-back pedal steel.

“Hold On To Me”, is co-written with Chris Kirby and Clayton Bellamy and features some more pedal steel from Bougie, “You’re feeling stretched out, across the line, out of luck, out of time, when the world’s got a hold on you, you can hold on to me. Darkness calls you to the sea, drags you down to the deep, when the world’s got a hold on you, you can hold on to me. Love is strong as gravity, it’ll always pull you through, I know you’ll do the same for me, whenever I’m in your shoes. The river bends and the trail will wind, I promise my friend I will never leave you behind, when the world’s got a hold on you, you can hold on to me”.

“Wayaheadaya”, “I hear you talking, talking around my back, you think you know all the facts, yes it’s a sad situation, you’ve got nothing better to do, you’re getting harder to hear ’cause I’m way ahead of you…yes, it’s a sad situation that you’ve got yourself into, why don’t you head on home now ’cause I’m way ahead of you”. With some great rhythm guitar, and Hammond B-3 from Comeau.

“Stay Home With You” is co-written with Dave Gunning. “The streets outside are calling, our friends out on the town, at your feet I’m falling, into pieces on the ground. We’ll put a record on the player, something that’s sweet and low, I could stay right here forever, as long as we take it slow. And if the world stops turning I won’t mind If I’m with you, gonna wake up in the morning, I’m gonna hold you with out warning…there’s not a thing that could take me away, here with you, that’s where I’ll stay”.

“Countin’ Quarters” was written by Ryan and Scott Hupman “Well the past ain’t what it used to be, it’s all up inside between my ears, my mind of mine won’t let me be, makes me count up all my minutes, hours and years, but I wish to god and I hope to hell, that I could understand that’s in the now, four or five years ago I understood, but I don’t understand why or how. Maybe it’s in the money, for it waxes and it wanes, and it makes the past see possible and all it’s losses and it’s gains, but I couldn’t care about the money, well at least that’s what I’d say, until I’m counting all my quarters, just to find my rent to pay”.

“The Cobbler (Good For My Sole), is co-written with producer Van Tassel. It’s basically an instrumental with one line repeated several times “Baby, you’re good for my sole”, while Van Tassel provides some great percussion. On “Tonight Belongs To You”, co-written with David Myles, Andersen chimes “A crowded bar, New Year’s Eve, I hear a laugh across the room, it calls to me, pulls me in, It leads me straight to you. You turn and smile at me, and I ask you your name…we’ve been together all these years, while I’m out there on the road, singing songs, in far way cities, and you wait for me at home, I know it ain’t easy to love a man like me”.

“You’re Here To Stay” is co-written with Tom Wilson, Terra Lightfoot, Thompson Wilson, and Jesse O’Brien. “Well I need somebody to lean on when the whole room is buzzing, I wanna be long gone, no matter where I stand, you always find a way. Take me by the hand, let me know you’re here to stay…let’s leave behind the whispers, let’s leave behind the noise, come and take me by the hand, let me hear you’re voice…let me know you’re here to stay, hey, hey, hey, hey”.

“Magnolia” is the only cover from J.J. Cale, as Andersen chants “whip-poor-will’s singing a soft summer breeze, remind’s me of my baby, I left down in New Orleans…I’ve gotta get back, get back to you, baby, you’re the best I ever had”. On the emotional closer Andersen croons “From the day you first held me, and all the days since then, you’ve always been with me, as a hero and a friend, even when we were fighting, we would end up right again, you taught me of compassion, how to always lend a hand, you said ‘give more than you take son’ be mindful where you stand, there are those who’ll try to break you, but don’t let them think they can…no matter where we go now, or what changes come, you will always be my father, and I’ll always be your son”.

On “The Hammer & The Rose”, Matt Andersen brings a lifetime of music to every note he plays. His powerful vocals combine with the charisma and command he exudes and is completely mesmerizing. He has spent decades cutting his teeth in dusty clubs, dim-lit bars, and grand theatres all over the world, delivering moving performances that run the gamut from intimate to wall-shaking. His poignant body of work has led him to amass over 33 million streams on Spotify and 30 million views on YouTube. He has shared the stage and toured with Marcus King, Beth Hart, Marty Stuart, Greg Allman, the Tedeshi Trucks Band, Tab Benoit, and others. With this new album Matt Andersen will continue to be celebrated wherever he may wander.

Richard Ludmerer

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