This small eight-track album is surely designed to leave you wanting more, as we hear tracks assembled from five musicals written by Matthew Harvey and performed by a variety of musical theatre performers.
The shows are Now or Never, a song cycle which was livestreamed in 2021 from the Barn Theatre; Starcrossed; Reveries; Kindred; and Unplugged a Musical Play.
Harvey himself takes the lead on three of the tracks, with others being performed by Eloise Davies (once alone and once with Courtney Stapleton), Ahmed Hamad, Sharon Rose, Hadley Fraser and Katie Shearman. It’s a fun project between writer, musicians, and friends.
This is an album which strides the gap between pop-rock and musical theatre dramatics, although it feels more sample than a cohesive whole, a calling card if you like for a composer who started to create as an immediate consquence of the pandemic in 2020.
Dominic Sewell’s string arrangements on “Only You” give the album some heft while this taster of Harvey’s ability as a composer gives even more boost to the rise of new British musicals.
Along with Harvey, the band comprises guitarist Dejeanté Hinks, bassist Meelie Traill, pianist Yshani Perinpanayagam, and drummer Jessie Linden, providing a tight and cohesive unit.
With topics as universal as the need for love, adventure and freedom while hinting at their pandemic roots, these songs are quietly elegant and sweetly subversive.
Whatever Happens Next is now available on streaming platforms. Find out more about Matthew Harvey on his website at https://matthewharveymusic.com/.
***.5