Hymns

I’ve always been a bit of a stubborn contrarian when it comes to music, especially when I was younger. (As opposed to now, when I often feel like a stubborn contrarian about everything.) In the late 80’s, when metal-pop was all the rage, I listened to R&B and hip-hop instead. And when grunge came around in the early 90’s to paint the rock charts flannel, I couldn’t help but look to England for electronic music as a digital antidote. So when I think back to the halcyon music days of 1994, two things immediately jump out in contrast: Dookie by Green Day (which was the multi-million-selling pivot point from grunge-influenced rock to punk-influenced rock) and the self-titled hardly-heard never-selling debut from the duo of Eric Matthews and Richard Davies under the name Cardinal. Barely a half-hour in length, Cardinal was rich orchestrated ‘60s-ish pop a la the Zombies or the early Bee Gees, and it sounded both cleaner and weirder than anything else in my ears at the time.

As often happens with talents and temperaments, the debut was their swan song, with each artist following his own creative path with solo albums that were wonderful and winning in their own ways. Except, of course, for that missing connective tissue that their unique musical alchemy infused through Cardinal. Over the years since ’94, I would come back to the Cardinal CD time and again, endlessly entertained by an album that never got old, even though I would (and did). So imagine my surprise and anticipation when I saw that Matthews and Davies revived the Cardinal name for a new album, almost eighteen years after their one-and-only, entitled Hymns.

Now available in stores and online, Hymns is that rarest of things: a de facto debut that feels like a logical extension of the timeless melodic beauty that Cardinal was able to summon from start to finish in their original iteration. As always, the blend between the foundation (Davies) and the orchestration (Matthews) is seamless and smooth, proof that hybrid vigor isn't just for plants. And while there are some new wrinkles here and there, in tempo and in embellishment, nothing strays too far from their ‘60s pop touchstones. It’s hard to think of performers that pick up where they left off in such compelling fashion, and while I've read some mixed and lukewarm reviews, I'm sticking to my contrarian guns in my zest and zeal for Hymns.