CHASE MATTHEW - First - Warner Music Nashville

As “Love You Again” continues making a strong impact on country radio and racing up the charts, Chase Matthew is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down. Songs such as “We All Grow Up” and “Darlin’” have become the most recent layers to the definition of a talent knowing exactly who he is while finding new ways within his signature feel to consistently challenge himself.

His latest release, “First,” is a bold showcase that spotlights the pure strength of his vocal prowess and his extremely gifted ability to weave through depths of emotions in such precise ways that the lyrics mirror stories to those of the listener, inducing a heart-to-heart connection with them.

Taking us into that moment after meeting his next potential love interest unexpectedly, the song written by Matthew, Jacob Rice, Ben Hayslip, and David Lee Murphy strikes the type of ultra-modern vibe that has become synonymous with Chase, allowing him to then tilt the vulnerability of the rollercoaster emotions that naturally arise through the anxiety of trying to move on while being stuck on what used to be.

“I met a girl last night” he somewhat somberly introduces on the opening line of the song, expertly using it as the catalyst to the next morning feelings as he quickly bends into the conflict, “she reminded me a lot of you.

Confessing that nothing can compare to those memories he holds so tightly to, Chase matches his vocal performance with the undertones of the pulsating rhythmic drive to the chorus, hitting the crescendo moment with looking back fuel on all the firsts they shared together:

“You were the first one to ride in my CJ-7

Top off, runnin' down an old backroad

First time to knock dust off the bottle

While it played on the radio

First buzz on my twenty first

First taste of goodbye hurt

It's hard to love anybody else

When I loved you first”

Tallying a list of their memory banked firsts - the first time she called him baby, their first kiss, etc. - the second half of the song sees a powerful vocal display that expertly straddles the line of an anxious frustration that never resolves the hurt of that tough goodbye.

Holding his distinctive flavors, “First” brings familiarity to the listeners who are just getting to know Chase Matthew and his music. However, the bends that he moves within the tones of his voice as he punches each specific phrase will absolutely perk the ears of his long-time fans as they witness the growth of country music’s hottest rising star becoming that much stronger within his overall aura.

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis/Art Credit: Kate Bowling)

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