The journeyman Matt Carey has been keeping a low but productive profile for several years on the festival circuit in the Northeastern United States. From his base in Boston he’s created a small but diverse catalog of stripped down tribal house and dub over the years full of ideas both righteous and sensual. Yesterday, he released his second full-length album Xtra Curricular Communication, a grab bag ranging in styles from hip-hop to house to drum and bass and breaks. Questions about the nature of the world today are woven tastefully through the album.

This is a delightfully spare record. There’s no frills. Its value depends on the strength of the songwriting, not any extraordinary sound design. “People on the Bus”, for example, has one guitar lick repeated throughout the song that dances along with one key sample. This is backed by a strong bass line and shuffling house drums, and punctuated by an excellent hook sung by Matt himself. There’s nothing revolutionary here, but when you sit back and ease in it can be real hypnotic and provocative music.

People on the bus keep falling asleep

They never get enough rest, the workforce is deep

Deep in the systemic cycle

I’m checking for vitals

Other highlights include the first cut “Stick Up (Desert Dub)”, an extraterrestrial hip-hop groove, “Break”, and “Green Leaf Cover”, a delightful dub odyssey about navigating the modern world and “chasing down the mighty dollar”. Matt’s own voice is one of our favorite parts of the album. His poetry is powerful and his tones are captivating.

Xtra Curricular Communication is a refreshing collection of electronic music that doesn’t take itself too seriously, but that still deals with some important subjects in a groovy matter. It looks like Matt’s festival season is over, but hopefully we see Matt on a few more lineups next summer for some extracurricular and extraterrestrial communication.

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