MATT GOMBAU – Breathe



Matt Gombau’s new single, Breathe, is out today. This is a stunning indie folk/ singer-songwriter offering from a name that was new to us until today, but someone we’ll most definitely be keeping an eye on.

This song starts with a beautifully recorded, well played acoustic guitar, panned slightly to the left which leads you in to the general feel of the song. You could just float away on this!

For me, I am SO drawn in to the drumming. Its unexpected but perfectly relevant to the song. An almost train like 16 beat. It would have been easy to play something much more generic but this drummer has pushed it to a new level and made the drums a hugely integral part of the entire song, rather than something that just happens to be driving the song along. The drums here are an instrument all of their own.

There’s great stereo and panning in this track. Some sort of ukulele/mandolin in the right speaker at times adds to the overall modern folk feel of the song.

There’s a lot going on here. Lots to listen to and, for the most part, none of the instruments are competing for the same frequency space. Put your headphones on and just appreciate everything that’s happening.

This is a song about escaping society and switching off. Something we could all do with right now! Its well written, well performed and well produced.

Photo credits: Benoit Gombault

I have to say huge kudos to Matt for his vocal style. I was reminded very much of Isaac Slade of The Fray. That kind of fragility and power all in the same voice is something that both of these vocalists do exceptionally well. There’s beautiful, resonant gravel in the high notes and just a touch of self reflection in the lower notes. This is a class vocalist.

If I were producing this song, I’d add a little more distance to the snare. It feels just a little too present and dominating.I’d also look at a slight top end boost and a little scoop in the mids of the overall EQ just to balance out and clean the overall sound. Kudos to the producer though. This is good stuff.

Matt Gombau is “one to watch” in our opinion. “Breathe” manages to be both simple and complex, both powerful and fragile all in the space of 3m46s. This song captivated us from start to finish with much nodding and smiling throughout!

We give this song 4 ears out of 5