Monitor: Listen

Matt Keating - "Tiltawhirl"

Words: Jesse Ashlock

Future Farmer - $12.00

Since starting as a busker on NYC subway platforms and European street corners, singer-songwriter Matt Keating has earned a minor cult following for his literate, Americana-tinged pop narratives. His accomplished fourth album mines similar territory to Richard Buckner and other disciples of Leonard Cohen's downcast lyricism, occasionally detouring into jangly Big Star terrain. His reedy warble sees you through the album's mishaps and hard times, from Texas's controversial execution of Karla Faye Tucker ("It's a Shame") to a lonesome adult's observations of teenage romance ("Window Booth"). Though often bitter and desolate Tiltawhirl stuns with its honesty and intimacy.