Review: Matt Ponio’s Modify

Matt Ponio
Modify
Independent

Following up his debut album within less than six months, Matthew Pomponio, a.k.a. Matt Ponio, is quickly proving to be a prolific music maker.

Clocking in at bang on twenty-nine minutes, Modify is a short and to-the-point package of electronic landscapes ranging from dark to dreamy. Pomponio’s digitally enhanced voice blends seamlessly with the backing of assorted synths on the opening track, the ever-building, up-tempo Storm in the City. The following track, Wake-Up Call, rolls in smoothly from its predecessor, creating a moody, late-night drive vibe with a dystopian undertone.

Nothin To Say brings a lift to the album. Its anthemic chord progression in the chorus makes for an engaging hook, driving a sense of positivity into the soundscape, while the clearer vocals create the feeling of a lifted veil. Who Knows continues the engaging choruses, and with its tempo matched well to the previous song, a consistent flow establishes itself, creating a song suite effect.

24 sees Ponio team up with fellow Perth artist Kusorari, who released his debut single late last year. The result is melodic and emotional, as Kusorari’s emphatic vocals join forces with ’80s-inspired synth string sounds broken up by bare and raw piano chords.

The skipping, sampled voices on Genius take things into plunderphonics territory, forming a trance around the song’s title. Complete with a lo-fi, funky outro, the track shows the most musical exploration on this release. Hopefully it’s something Ponio dives further into on future releases.

A moment of tenderness arrives with Is Everything Alright? The track brings things back to that moody, late-night drive vibe from the first two songs, albeit with a more melancholic feel as opposed to a dark dystopian feeling. The reflective vibe continues into the closing track, adrift—a slow tempo vamp that leads into a more groove-friendly outro for the closing minute.

Ponio’s second album very much has the effect of a wave. There is an intense and uncertain build in the opening, swelling dramatically midway through before breaking peacefully in the final moments. A good record for spacing in and out.

AJ MAHAR