Calm Before

Vinyl LP pressing of this 2016 release. Matt Elliott presents The Calm Before, the seventh album under his own name, following his 2013 album Only Myocardial Infarction Can Break Your Heart and the 2016 20th-anniversary reissue of his 1996 debut as The Third Eye Foundation, Semtex. For The Calm Before, Elliott is joined again by producer David Chalmin, who co-produced Only Myocardial Infarction Can Break Your Heart, as well as the musicians who contributed to that album. The six masterpieces collected here fit the logical continuum of Elliott's previous work, but a deeper listen reveals the true strength of the music and lyrics, capturing the essence of what Elliott's art is all about - folk guitar virtuosity influenced by the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe; songs that start with whispered melodies and end with noisy storms; Elliott's deep, strong voice reaching new levels; and a tendency to avoid any well-known way of making music. With The Calm Before Elliott delivers another masterpiece, adding a precious stone to his path through contemporary folk music.