Years ago, Matt Berry and Rich Fulcher had a show called Snuff Box, a comedy about two executioners who hang out at a gentleman’s club— the British kind, not the Bada Bing! kind. The show itself is fantastic, but the most memorable thing about it is the theme song. That melody has haunted me for years, even when my content-addled brain struggles to recall what actually happened in the series. Matt Berry writes a good earworm.
Berry, the actor who has been in cult favorite shows like Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace and The Mighty Boosh, starred in the British series Toast of London and recently ended a six-season run as Laszlo in What We Do in the Shadows, has a parallel career as a musician. His latest album, Heard Noises, was released on January 24 and it’s potentially as sticky as that Snuff Box theme song.
Heard Noises is, generally speaking, a psychedelic album, but Berry, who also produced the album and played many of the instruments on it, draws from a wide breadth of sounds from the 1960s and 1970s. Psych rock, film score, bubblegum pop, northern soul, jazz and dub are all referenced throughout the album, sometimes in the same song. It sounds like he’s working with the thought process of a DJ: take a bunch of different elements, piece them together in a cohesive way so that it sounds familiar even when it’s not. So, a single song, like “Stay on the Ground” can ride pre-disco Bee-Gees, Blood Sweat & Tears and Stone Roses vibes over the course of four minutes. It’s wild and makes me want to talk to Berry about records.
In fact, I was reading Berry’s list of favorite albums in The Quietus through my first listen to Heard Noises. During “Be Alarmed,” I thought about how much the song reminded me of the first half of “In Every Dream Home a Heartache,” in its minimalism, as well as Berry’s vocal delivery. Then I got to the section about Roxy Music’s album, For Your Pleasure, where he says, “All the colours and ideas then culminate for me with ‘In Every Dream Home A Heartache’, which for me is the best artistic statement that they ever made, lyrically, sonically and arrangement-wise.” TBH, he manages to capture the spirit of that song better in “Be Alarmed” than actual cover versions do.
But, what holds the album together is Berry’s attentiveness to melody. At times, like on “Canada Dry,” the hooks are as immediate as a commercial jingle. I have a feeling that song is going to hit me now every time I see Canada Dry at the convenience store. Other songs are sneaky little earworms that burrow deeper into your brain every time you hear them, until all of a sudden you’re singing along, only semi aware that you’re singing lyrics like, “I am a man and my shirt is too bright/And my hair took a dive and my pants are too tight” (“I Gotta Limit”).
When Berry’s albums get media attention, there’s often a mention as to how these aren’t comedy songs. To an extent, that’s true. On Heard Noises, there’s nothing as over-the-top as “One Track Lover,” his ‘80s-esque banger from Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, but his sense of humor is apparent and there are times, like on “I Gotta Limit,” where you can imagine Steven Toast or another one of his characters singing. But, you don’t need that kind of familiarity with Berry’s work to get into Heard Noises. This is a solid album that will appeal to folks who have an affinity for psychedelic music and ‘60s-style pop songwriting.
Hear “Silver Rings” by Matt Berry on the January 2025 Beatique Mix
Liz O. is an L.A.-based writer and DJ. Read her recently published work and check out her upcoming gigs. Follow on Instagram for more updates.
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