Duets are always interesting. It’s about finding two voices that work together to create a sense of chemistry and dynamic, as well as creative tension and blending together.
On ‘Crazy Heart’, Matthew Schultz and Alessia Guarnera perform a valiant effort on this R&B schmoozer, with Guarnera’s voice opening the track over a wistful acoustic guitar. Her voice leans towards Natasha Bedingfield and Gabriela Cilmi, singing bittersweet words “The way you spin me round and round, works like the weather / And I don’t know how you hurt me, why’s it got to hurt?”
Buy: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/crazy-heart-feat.-alessia/id872735912
Matthew Schultz’s voice is a stark contrast, scratchy and autotuned, adding a chewy, crunchy tone to the track that works with the overall modern production with its peppering of drops and beats. Where the track feels it is lacking is any real sense of direction or journey – once is fades out to close, it’s not entirely clear if there is any resolution to the “I’m no good for you but we’re really into each other” tension. But perhaps that’s what the track ultimately has got going for it – a story of a girl who keeps coming back to the guy she knows she needs to let go.
It might not be a genre defining game changer, but Matthew Schultza nd Alessia Guarnera’s ‘Crazy Heart’ is worth a spin if you’re into moody R&B and looking for something new.
http://www.matthewschultzmusic.com
By: Chris Marsh
