Shine is Matt Stillwell’s latest record and the title track was also the first single from the record. A fun, party-ready track about havin’ a good time with some people out in the country; There’s mason jars and handmade alcohol to help everyone achieve that moment of Zen. Vocally Stillwell recalls Rhett Akins and the banjo and filled melody really gets this song on your brain and before you know it, you’re hummin’ the tune and dancing to it. “Rain” is another single from the record and while it didn’t do as well as “Shine” did on the radio, it is still a likable song nonetheless. A power ballad, the song finds Stillwell singing a lyric -which he co-wrote with Lynn Hutton- that equates a rainy road and how it slows him down to the tears he’s crying as he drives away from a just-broken-up relationship. The vocal from Stillwell is likable and the song has an atmospheric ‘mood’ to help set the song up.
“Whiskey Well” is a fiddle and steel-soaked, hand clap and Hammond-B3 organ fueled romp that has a melody similar to gloriana’s “Wild At Heart” without any of the ‘slick’ sounds. In other words, had “Wild at Heart” been released with this kind of production, the song might’ve just made the Top 10. As for Matt Stillwell’s “Whiskey,” the lyrics are witty and are given a playful reading. “Moment Of Weakness” chronicles something that happens every day in America, where strong “family men” succumb to a moment of weakness and later in the song, the song chronicles how one becomes addicted to a cocaine habit thanks to that moment of weakness. The song was written by Matt Stillwell and Lynn Hutton.
“Sweet Sun Angel” -a song written by Jeremy Stover, Kris Bergsnes and Greg Barnhill- is Matt Stillwell’s third single from Shine and like the title track, it’s a jovial summery song but instead of being about a raw alcoholic beverage, the song is about a girl that lights up his world. It’s exactly the kind of song that country radio eats up during the summer months and while it’s not gonna be a big chart hit, it has served Matt Stillwell well while also being a fun little song. Shine ends with a fine cover of Ryan Adams’ “Oh My Sweet Carolina.” In fact, it may just be the best song on the record in every possible way. The melody and lyrics are strong while Stillwell really sings the hell out of this song with passion and the acoustic arrangement serves justice to Adams’ original. The song may just be the best ‘I miss my home song’ I’ve heard in quite a while.
While Shine looks towards the mainstream country radio sound, it is songs like “Oh My Sweet Carolina” and “Moment of Weakness” which really give fans the breadth of talent that Matt Stillwell possesses. Shine is the work of an artist who could rival country music’s big guns if given the proper chance to.
You can support Matt Stillwell by purchaing Shine at eMusic | iTunes | Amazon.
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