Aqualung Sings Again

By Harris Cohen

With a number one album in his U.S. debut, “Strange And Beautiful,” and a top 40 single, “Brighter Than Sunshine” what does Matt Hales decide a couple of years ago? To retire.

Matt Hales, a.k.a. Aqualung, recently released “Magnetic North.” The album reminisces back to “Strange and Beautiful” but also pushes into new territory, namely guests joining and happiness.

Hales excels with heartbreaking love songs. He is a master in layering underlying complexity and tension into an outer layer of simplicity. What begins as a bare composition becomes an aural orchestra in exactly the proper amount.

A pinnacle on the CD is “Lost.” Building from the starkness of the soft and flowing piano melody with a subtle bass line and drum beat, Hales sings with sighs of despair sinuously murmuring “I know I’m not tired of you/ But maybe you got tired of me/ Seems like every little thing I do/ Makes you pull yourself away.” The story perfectly builds to a crescendo as the song picks up depth and with an organ line added as the vocals blend in and out of falsetto flawlessly and eases back to the bareness the song began with as Hales yearns, “Won’t you please come home?” Impeccable but Hales effectively adds the questioning anguish of despair “If only love was enough/ I could reach you/ I would reach you.”

Sara Bareilles, unites with Hales for the exquisite ballad, “Remember Us.” With a voice smooth as silk, Bareilles fuses into perfect harmony. As Hales begins with the simplicity of just a piano, the song soars when the acoustic guitar joins as he puts urgency into the keyboard melody. The song about a relationship that is struggling but still connecting, Bareilles passionately repeats back the lyrics to her troubled partner in a tender and intimate moment with her unrivaled graceful singing. All duets should be like this.

“Thin Air” beams a beautiful love song. A fast piano line paces the song with the gently flicking of the acoustic guitar in supporting harmony. Reassuring his partner in a time of question, Hales croons “Tell me that you love me forever/ And we’ll go without another word/ Standing on the edge of something/ Tell me I was right to care/ You know that I’m in love with you.”

“Magnetic North” is a must addition for anyone who likes any of the piano-based super-groups. Aqualung soars above the most popular acts in music, lyrics, voice, and feeling.