Jamie Woon released last year his first album in ten years. ‘3, 10, Why When’—the 3rd of October, hence the title—brought back the author of that romantic and elegant modern soul that enamored us years ago with ‘Mirrorwriting’ (2011) and ‘Making Time’ (2015), this time supported by a more organic sound than usual and by singles like ‘Heavy Going’, as beautiful as ever.
Woon, who will present ‘3, 10, Why When’ in Spain next December, with intimate shows in Barcelona (3 December at Laut) and Madrid (4 December at Café Berlín), has a special gift for writing precious closing songs. ‘Dedication’, from his second album, is in my opinion a masterpiece, and ‘What’s the Matter’, from the latest one, is very close. It is the Song of the Day.
The public seems to agree, since ‘What’s the Matter’ is the track from the album that has not been the most-streamed single, aside from the opening track, ‘All the Way’, which tends to rack up many streams on any full-length album, regardless of genre. And that despite being the last. It has more streams than, for example, the second, ‘Time n Place’, which also wasn’t released as a single.
With its melancholic piano chords, its downbeat rhythm and those ‘da da da’ harmonies, ‘What’s the Matter’, re-released this very year through a live-recorded version, slowly and progressively moves toward a beautiful emotional climax. The song conveys a sad calm, while Woon talks about preserving energy and waiting for tomorrow, about second chances, about fear and how hard it is to fake a smile when something is breaking inside.
In the chorus, the questions pile up: ‘What’s the matter with fear?’, ‘What’s the matter with tears?’, ‘What don’t I understand?’. Rather than answering them, Woon seems to linger in them, until reaching an ending that again asks what happens to us and what happens to him. Meanwhile, the song progresses as if it intends to reach the same infinity.
