Modern Love

This is one of the most perfectly crafted pop albums I've ever heard. Modern Love is Nathanson's take on what having a relationship is like these days (which was technically ten years ago yesterday). It starts off with Faster and Modern Love, two of his best singles, and just keeps hitting. (Personally, I think things bog down a little in the middle with Kept, but just about every track cuts a path and says "I belong here".)

This is a fantastic 8th studio album by one of the best rock songwriters today in Matt Nathanson, titled 'Modern Love'. It's a great follow-up to the critically acclaimed 2007 CD release 'Some Mad Hope' & Matt Nathanson covers the intricate theme of love in the modern world : its good & bad from himself & friends around him as 'ginea pigs'. This results in what his recording company calls a joyful, complex & bold CD than anything he has done before. Stand-outs/solid tracks/gems from this CD (11 tracks) are "Faster" (up-tempo track with wonderful rock music, vocals & melody), "Modern Love" (title track), "Love Comes Tumbling Down" (an incredible ballad with beautiful keyboard/guitar combination, chorus & melody), "Kept" (slow track with unbelievable melody), "Run" (wonderful melody & harmonies featuring the great duo of Jennifer Nettles & Kristian Bush) & "Bottom Of The Sea". Great tracks include "Room @ The End Of The world", "Kiss Quick" (a slow track, great vocals & melody), "Mercy" (some 'indie rock' sound & great chorus) & "Drop To Hold You" (up-tempo track with great high pitched vocals). Okay track is "Queen Of (K)nots". On overall, Matt Nathanson displays incredible talent as a singer/songwriter in this new CD 'Modern Love', a highly recommended CD listening. A well deserved 5 star performance!

In this age of instantly-accessible mp3 downloads, its rare that I actually end up downloading and regularly listening to all the songs on one particular album. Even with Matt's previous releases I did a bit of picking and choosing to create my own preferred playlist. With "Modern Love", however, I find myself doing something I haven't done in a very long time - listening to the whole album from start to finish on a regular basis. The styles on this album are quite diverse, and everything Matt does for each track he does very very well. The ballads in particular are just stunning, in lyrics, tempo, and melody. The duet for "Run" is gorgeous, as is my other favorite, "Kept." Then you have these catchy little feel-good pop numbers like "Bottom of the Sea" and "Room at the End of the World". And just when you think that's the end of the good stuff, Matt throws in some more rock-edged tracks like "Queen of Knots" and the incredibly catchy "Mercy". I have always liked Matt Nathanson's music but with this album I just became a huge fan. It really is that good.

Actually, I still look forward to playing "Some Mad Hope," so I wasn't sure if I was ready for Matt's next CD, but I'm glad I splurged and added it to my order. My favorite track is the title track. Maybe it resembles the stellar "Come On Get Higher" that was #1 in my personal top ten & a favorite track of the year in 2008, but I love the insistent beat of "Modern Love" and the hint of emotional danger, "She said, 'Watch your back, I'm nobody's girlfriend." "Bottom of the Sea" that closes out the set is also magical with acoustic guitar and a piano with a lovely pop melody. I've read both professional and customer reviews here that don't care for Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles' vocal on "Run." They say she's trying to upstage Matt. I don't hear it that way. I just hear a woman singing her heart out with Matt on a very good track. "Queen of (K)Nots" is another gem. Nathanson's second Vanguard release is a winner. Enjoy!

This is album's musical style is different than his past two albums. Although the lyrics are in the same vein, the music itself is more pop/rock than the past two albums. If you liked the lyrics of the last two albums, it's the same sort of composition. However, the music is definitely a beat or two faster. There are a few (maybe 3 or 4) songs that are very similar (tone wise) to his last efforts) but a lot of songs have a bit of pop/rock infusion. Although I was a bit surprised by this, after a bit of listen I started enjoying the newer songs. If I was to pick my favorite songs from this album, it would be "Modern Love" and "Faster", both a departure from his earlier style.

I'll start by saying that this is my favorite Matt Nathanson album to date. I don't usually leave reviews, but I enjoyed his new album so much that I wanted to leave him a positive review. Old fans will be able to tell that this is definitely a different sound for Matt. It is "poppier" and happier than his older stuff. However, old fans will also easily recognize his distinctive writing style and thoughtful lyrics. And, he still has plenty of heartbreak/frustration, too. Fans who prefer his more indie, natural, less polished sound will likely consider this a "sell-out" album. I, on the other hand, really appreciate this new direction and feel it just makes his great music more accessible. Hands down, a success from start to finish.

I've been a fan of Matt Nathanson's since his incredible album, Still Waiting for Spring. Although I loved his follow up album Beneath These Fireworks, his following album Some Mad Hope was a little too teenage girl pop for my tastes. I am happy to say that Modern Love is a great blend of those two sides of Matt. Many of the tracks seem to reflect some of his musical influences. For example, on "Faster," I hear a lot of Prince. On "Kiss Quick," I can hear the influence of U2. If you are on the fence about checking this album out, you should take a listen. It's only $5 on Amazon now and definitely worth that much and more. Better yet, after you check it out, see Matt Nathanson live. He is an incredible performer live. I am consistently blown away by his energy on stage.

I really didn't know much about Matt Nathanson. I mostly bought the cd for the song Run, Run, Run with Jennifer Nettles, who I love. But I was pleasantly surprised. I really like the whole cd. I would recommend it to my friends.

This is a well and produced album, with the songs singing true to the singer, and something that can be listened to many times before starting to wear.I was having trouble deciding whether or not to give this album 4 or 5 stars, as there are a couple of songs that are easily forgotten, "Kept", and "Drop to hold you", being the couple, but fortunately they are still decent tracks so I have gone with the 5 stars because the album as a whole being a wonderful composition, "Faster", "Kiss quick", and "Mercy", being my personal favourites.There is genuine feeling and emotion in Matt's voice and the catchy, previously-used-by-other-bands, riffs are given new life, such as "Queen of (k)nots".Overall, a lovely album and one that will never be left on the shelf to collect dust.

I had been aware of Matt Nathanson for sometime thanks to "Come On Get Higher", however it wasn't until I saw him support Train last year that I really took notice. Both acts were really on top form, and Matt demonstrated a seemingly rare understanding that if you go to see a artist, then you hope for more than them simply playing the best hits, album-verbatim, in a row and then leaving the stage. If that's what you want then you may as well sit at home and turn the album up loud. Matt dealt with this by mixing up the songs, performing covers and having great banter with the crowd whilst explaining the origins of the songs. Seriously, if you get the opportunity, go see him live as his on-stage presence is very strong.After the show I went home and ordered "Modern Love" immediately, and boy, I was not disappointed. In my opinion, ML is an album that I can listen to in its entirety without skipping a single song. This is a commendable achievement, coming from someone who's skip-on button on the car stereo is decidedly worn. That's not to say the album is perfect; I think the latter half is possible a bit weaker than the first, but I suppose that's just telling at how good the album is that even the worse songs are great. After many listens, I think that "Run", "Queen of Knots" and "Bottom of the Sea" are possibly my least favourite, with it being very difficult to identify a favourite as I love all the rest.I suppose, in short, this album makes a good introduction to someone who should probably be a lot more famous than he is and is well worth a purchase. Certainly one of my favourite albums that still, a year after purchase, is on regular stereo rotation.

Didn't like his last album but this is way better. Great songs, beautifully constructed and played, great vocals and song structure make for a superb album.Turn down the lights, sit back and let it wash over you!!!Great stuff!!

Love this CD.

Matt is new to me and I bought this album after hearing one song on "Hart of Dixie" I am so impressed with it that I have bought another two of his albums - This album is Excellent !!