New Music Critiques: Matt Strachan

Ably backed by the Hoot Owls, Matt Strachan has a gift for conveying life’s golden moments. “Jamie Rae” pays tribute to a childhood friend and handles news of that pal’s loss in a way that accentuates the positive. The rocking, endearing “Tickets” recalls being “the luckiest kid alive” when taken to a ballgame by his dad. It’s a song that could leave a grown man smiling and misty-eyed. The artist’s quirky and country- clever “European,” about a lass copping a squat in a honkytonk parking lot, could inspire a jolly, spirited sing-along (“you’re a-peein’!”). Montana-based Strachan has a decent voice, but perhaps he would do well to interest a music publisher to get his tunes to some big name artists?