Holy shit. Has this kid come a long way or what. Often when I write about former reality TV contestants come good, I make it my mission not to mention the name of the show which initially made them famous or anything that may trigger past memories, for I feel it clouds over the current music they're making. So if you already know who Matt Corby is, and haven't heard his latest record, prepare to have your face melted off. If you're one of our foreign readers, you're in for an even better surprise. When Matt was first starting out on his own way back in 2009 or something, his publicists (or maybe it was actually him) sent us one of his first EPs to listen to, keen to see what we thought. And though D was initially more excited by the fact that Corby had grown a beard, we both agreed that something wonderfully special was happening and we tracked Matt's progress from there as we could. But one other thing my brother did mention, which I find especially pertinent given Matt's recent securing of the #3 spot in Triple J's Hottest 100 in amongst a slew of other awards for this track was this: " Instead [of pop], he’s chosen to take what seems to be almost an inevitably doomed path and reinvented himself as singer/songwriter and young folk icon." As a matter of fact, I happen to agree. The hirsute Corby we knew three years ago was certainly a talent but he was also travelling down a well-worn path without making a definitive finger-painting in the cement of his own. Indeed, it's only in the last two EPs - artist development over extended time periods, who knew such a thing could still exist? - that we begin to see what he was always capable of. It's more than folk, it's more than another singer-songwriter, it's just something really original, fresh and interesting and I can see why the rest of my country is quickly waking up to it. It wasn't the Gotye airwaves slayer but it had an undercurrent that was similar to that of The Middle East's 'Blood' a few years back; everyone stopped dead and wondered aloud 'Who the hell is that?' (more...)