It’s interesting how, upon meeting an artist a few times, one can develop ideas about how their music sounds without ever having heard it before. Such is the case with Matt Williams. He has generated considerable buzz around here since sometime last summer, and we had met a few times. Then there were the posters around town advertising his gigs- “He’s like Keller Williams!” people said. “A one-man band!” others exclaimed. It was difficult to know what to expect, but I figured I had a good idea. As it turns out, I didn’t have any idea.

Your Last Make-Believe is a studio recording, so estimating how much was done via looping (the technique of creating and layering live backing tracks using digital samplers of various types) is kind of pointless. “Looping” has been popularized by Keller Williams, along with the “one man band” thing — hence the comparison. Likewise, Matt Williams plays and sings every single note on the CD. But judging an artist by their purely technical similarity to anyone else just isn’t very cool, so no more Keller. This is all about Matt.

Williams’ voice calls to mind a bit of Dave Matthews, some of Jump Little Children’s Jay Clifford in the quirky intonation, and even Nelly Furtado. The neat little trail offs at the end of a line and the repetition of a word with varying inflection all call to mind Furtado’s phrasing. Bits of Maroon 5 and Jamiroquai’s modern soul sound, but from a more acoustic basis, constitute more recent points of reference. Musically, his proficiency on such an array of instruments (voice, guitars, mandolin, violin, bass and percussion) is ridiculous. It’s hard to pinpoint where his specialty lies instrumentally, as he uses all of them to equal effect.

A concept album of sorts, some of Your Last Make-Believe deals with the importance of keeping our willingness to imagine alive. Subsequently, the entire disc has a dreamy, echo-laden quality that suits the material. Isley Brothers styled fuzz guitar over tight, jazzy acoustic funk permeates the title track, setting a nice tone for what’s to come. Some of Marvin Gaye’s world-weary lyrical consciousness seeps into “Why World Why?” and “The Dreamer’s Eyes” feels like an older song than it really is, with a classic little chord sequence in the middle section. Williams’ writing displays a dedication to his craft, and a willingness to work a part until it’s “there.” None of the album’s performances sound settled for.

A standout track is “Writing In Red.” Much of Your Last Make-Believe has such a calm, relaxed demeanor that the angst this song provides is a welcome jolt. It’s a powerful tune, and it sports a fantastic chorus (with tight harmony vocals) that lodges itself tightly in the back of your head. “Glory” has a cool middle-eastern vibe, with some appropriately ethnic sounding, octave jumping melody work (violin? whammy-pedaled guitar?) layered with the stop/start acoustic guitar rhythm.

Matt Williams has cooked up quite a satisfying listening experience. There’s a quality and confidence in the playing that is impressive, but never detracts from the songs themselves. The choice not to go “full band” on the album gives it more breathing room, and suits the primarily acoustic format nicely. The real mind-blower will be watching Williams pull all of this off live- and rumor has it he does just that, and then some. Four stars, most certainly.

— Chris Cooper

(Chris Cooper works at In Your Ear Music Emporium in Sylva and can be reached at thumbpick43@yahoo.com.)