Matthew van der Want is a South African singer/songwriter who recently released a new album Terrorlove. His songs mainly focus on love and loss, and the destruction of the masculine characteristics during these momentous life events. Truly, the South African culture values the macho-bravado role that men (used to) play in society. As one of my friends Gail mentioned when she recently visited Johannesburg and Cape Town for a work trip: “Men are very manly, and woman very womanly.”. What that exactly means is open for interpretation, suffice to say that the stereotypical adage of strong men and weak women are played out daily, almost to the point where it can be mistaken for satire. Which I think sometimes it is. Matthew investigates the fragility which rarely comes out in public view for men who have loved and lost. I am not excluding women in this although most of his songs do have a male protagonist’s point of view or feeling, but almost always there is tenderness in the lyrics and melodies which leaves a feeling of someone crying for the first time in front of his lover. There is anger too, anger at failures which had not been foreseen and so, could not be avoided. In Fugue, we hear the story of a filicide told from a grieving father who has lost his faith in humanity (and I guess also himself) when his new born is wrentched from this life. The implication is by the mother who is suffering from postpartum depression. I am sure there are deeper metaphors here but the imagery of an infant covered in fleas buried in a shoe box strikes a hammer to the heart strings of any young parent, especially in a society where men are still primarily considered as the protectors of the family. The song escalates over time with an increasing sense of despair, and hopelessness. In the end, a breakdown is all but inevitable, and the sincere grief in Matthew’s voice makes me believe he must’ve been close to a similar situation, or had been touched by a news article dealing with something like this.
Matthew van der Want is on facebook, although I don’t think he accepts Friend Requests, and as far as I can tell he doesn’t do too much promoting for his work, outside of live shows which are also usually few and far between. I have had the pleasure of seeing him live 5 times since the late 1990s. And his catalog of songs are always meaningful and thought provoking, an authentic and serious artist who rarely features beyond the borders of his motherland. Please check out his stuff on bandcamp and most of his albums are available on the itunes store as well.
Note: I do not own any rights or have any affiliation with the artist. This is simply a promo for some good stuff which doesn’t always get the deserved exposure.