Review: Matt Pless & Melissa Lucciola - Split

Matt Pless & Melissa Lucciola - Split                                                  
Release Date: March 05, 2013
Record Label: Fake Art Records
Rating: 8/10
For Fans Of: Ramshackle Glory; Walter Mitty & His Makeshift Orchestra; Lianne LeHavas
Buy It Here


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The Matt Pless & Melissa Lucciola split record is a coming together of two wonderful genres. Throughout the course of three tracks we encounter ramshackle punk and delicate heartfelt folk music. Opener “Dirty Needles” is a high speed, heavily accented folk punk part. Matt Pless’ tongue in cheek lyricism and lambastic vocals make for a highly charismatic delivery. The track’s upbeat darkness makes it a standout of the release. In contrast, Matt Pless’ second track of the split is a fairly standard fare of “Dylan-esque” folk. Although less distinct than the opener; it’s quite literally dripping in integrity and “young lonely man” charm. Whilst “Of Love & Loss” is quite simple, the refrain of “it’s better to have loved and lost/ than to lose yourself to love” has a tendency to lodge itself in the listener’s brain. Of course, the song has been done before, and he’s not bringing anything new to the table, but it doesn’t stop Pless’ honesty and organic delivery from being refreshing.

Melissa Lucciola’s offering to the split, “Miss You”, is a little more complex. Its bluesy guitars and her subdued southern vocals, give the track a greater sophistication. Quite honestly, it’s a superb song. Whilst yet again, the song is simple, its regret filled, lonely lyrics and simple blues guitar makes for an atmospheric, sad closer.

Both artists display talent on this split. Despite the brevity of her presence on the release, Lucciola is instantly a stand out artist who should definitely be garnering attention in coming months. Pless also displays a charismatic, likeable sound that, with a little more focus, could earn him favour with the same people who took Ramshackle Glory and Walter Mitty And His Makeshift Orchestra in to their hearts. The only big complaint about the release is that the two artists don’t appear to have enough in common for this to be a truly cohesive split, however, for the tracks themselves, this is well worth a listen. A great start for Fake Art Records and a great start for both artists.