Wednesday 13 April 2011

Matthew Morrison - Summer Rain


I can feel the bile rising in my throat.

It's available now on iTunes, conveniently poised to take advantage of the spring.  As such it is full of all the summer clichés - most notably the ukelele.  Basically, if Glee did a Jason Mraz episode, it would sound A LOT like this. 

The trouble is, I can't decide what Morrison is trying to achieve with this track and the upcoming album - if a full album is even bearable.  Is this just Mr Schue riding the Glee tidal wave that has spread across the globe?  Or does Mr Morrison wish to be taken seriously as a credible music artist?  Morrison himself seems torn.  The bubblegum pop sound is clearly geared towards the young Glee demographic, whilst the slightly risqué lyrics ("Your eyes are beggin’ me to touch you there / Could be a thousand people watchin’ but we don’t care") will appeal to his more adult fans.  Can he successfully straddle both ends of the spectrum?  Commercially it's a no-brainer...

That said, the more I listen, the more the bile descends into my stomach.  It's catchy, it's got a funky bassline and Morrison is a talented performer.  For all it's cheesiness, just like Glee, Summer Rain is inoffensive, harmless fun that gives you that warm fuzzy feeling. 

That is, until reality hits... well, it was fun while it lasted.

2/5