Hunter, Mathis
Countryman
Mathis Hunter is a true rock 'n' roll journeyman -- an Atlanta music renaissance man to some, a Southern rocker of the highest mystical order to others. Somewhere between the post-punk funk of his former band the Selmanaires, and the full tilt boogie of Noot d' Noot, Hunter reconnected with his roots. On his sophomore solo LP, Countryman, the multi-instrumentalist twists a melange of psychedelic classic rock excursions into the phantasmagoria of the idlewild South. Songs such as "Ley Lines," "Aquamarine" and "The Swirl" are built around lush Gibson Firebird and Fender Rhodes and synthesizer arrangements that take shape as the first full flowering of Hunter's drive toward pop grandeur. Hunter's 2010 solo debut, Soft Opening, featured his first forays into heavily layered soundscapes culled from equal parts Summer of Love-era Traffic and the Rolling Stones with '90s British rock ala Primal Scream and Storm in Heaven era Verve.