Lo Fi High Hopes
Self-Released, 2023
10/10
A very active musician in Boston’s always fertile music scene, Matt Charette plays a unique version of punk fueled Americana, where plenty of grit is present in his working class anthems.
“4x4” gets the listen off to a rugged start, where Charette’s gruff yet tuneful voice is met with Greg Hoffman’s thumping drums for the melodic roots rock, and “Anywhere” follows with a rural beauty that benefits much from Cody Nilsen’s warm pedal steel.
Further down the line, the cautious strumming of “Feel” is met with Charette’s poetic and sincere singing amid Chris Coughlin’s agile keys, while the louder “Wrecking Ball” welcomes Nick Scotti’s dense bass lines alongside the crisp drums and versatile singing of the more punk spirited album highlight about the pandemic’s darkest days.
Landing near the end, the intimate “Hard Way” builds into an emotive, country-punk demeanor, and “How It’s Going To End” exits with a rich and harmonic version of Americana that parallels the greatness achieved by Tim Barry.
Charette’s resume includes his formative years in punk bands like the Scrapes, and after seeing the Boston legend Lenny Lashley go solo, Charette made the leap to the stage with just his guitar. Certainly still indebted to his days listening to Black Flag and The Clash, Lo Fi High Hopes puts an incredible spin on alt-country that you can’t help but admire.
Travels well with: Lucero- Should’ve Learned By Now; Cory Branan- The No-Hit Wonder