While too often unfairly dismissed as an over-zealous prophet of doom, Matt Johnson remains a fiercely individualistic and instinctive operator. Naked Self, only his seventh full release in an erratic 19-year career - three "lost" The The albums still languish in the vaults, including Gun Sluts, the 1997 exercise in extremes that finally killed off his longstanding association with Sony - marks a shedding of skins for Johnson: relocation to New York; new band; new label.

Nevertheless, the characteristic elements of the The The sound remain strong within Naked Self. Though rockier in parts than any of his previous work, this 12-track set houses some of Johnson's most impressive songwriting to date. December Sunlight recalls the balladeering of 1981's Burning Blue Soul solo debut, The Whisperers invokes the spirit of Tim Buckley and the gorgeously woozy Weather Belle is equal parts Tom Waits and Bertolt Brecht.

Elsewhere, Phantom Walls, like Love Is Stronger Than Death from '93's Dusk, tackles earthly grief with a healing, otherworldly touch where it could so easily descend into therapeutic psychobabble (the album is dedicated to Johnson's late mother). Even if the over-reaching Voidy Numbness and Salt Water really should have been left on the cutting room floor, their weaknesses are largely shielded in such towering company. Throughout, Naked Self provides a frequently beautiful, moving and thought-provoking addition to the The The catalogue.

Track List:
1. Boiling Point
2. Shrunken Man
3. The Whisperers
4. Soul Catcher
5. Global Eyes
6. December Sunlight
7. Swine Fever
8. Diesel Breeze
9. Weather Belle
10. Voidy Numbness
11. Phantom Walls
12. Salt Water

To hear a RealAudio clip,
click on a highlighted track above.

March 2000

Tom Doyle