Glorieta
State Fair, 2023
9/10
The veteran singer-songwriter and guitarist Matt Hillyer knows his way around a song you won’t soon forget, and this solo album brings plenty of influences to his twangy template.
The title track starts the listen with Hillyer’s timeless, classic country appeal that’s warm, rhythmic and even embraces folk ideas, and “Stolen Kisses” follows with both retro rock’n’roll and twang meeting at a place that just might remind you of Roy Orbison.
Deeper into the listen, “Ordinary Man” finds itself in dreamy areas of intimacy thanks to Hillyer’s vivid storytelling, while “Dirty Little Secrets” will get you onto the dance floor with its playful fiddle and crisp drumming that lands in bouncy, country territory.
“Diablo Motel” arrives near the end the recruits an accordion for the more haunting setting, and “That’s How You Know” exits with a driving, fluid and harmonic beauty that really does illuminate all of country music’s best traits.
Hillyer enjoyed 23 great years playing with the legendary honky tonk band Eleven Hundred Springs, and his solo output is already proving to be just as luminous thanks to these really enjoyable 11 tunes.
Travels well with: The Shootouts- Bullseye; The Stubborn Lovers- The Stubborn Lovers