★★★★☆
Released in January 2025 and clocking in at just under 50 minutes, this is a confident, richly layered album. It highlights Matt Berry’s mastery of vintage soundscapes. It also asserts his evolution as a songwriter and vocalist.
Love it.
Heard Noises is English actor, comedian, and writer Berry’s first full vocal album in several years. It shows him operating with renewed clarity. He is also working with emotional depth. The instrumentation is characteristically expansive, featuring organs, mellotrons, analog synths, and jangling guitars that populate nearly every track. Yet this time around, the mix is cleaner, less cluttered. There’s room to breathe — even in the densest arrangements. This makes Heard Noises his most accessible album. It does not sacrifice his signature eccentricities.
The album opens with “Why On Fire?”, a bouncy, cinematic track that blends retro synths, funky guitar, and Berry’s characteristically sly vocal delivery. It immediately signals a playful, surreal tone that sets the stage for what follows, with lyrics such as “Why? Why on fire?
Why on fire? There’s a chance for me to run and to be free. But I’m scared, can’t move my arms, can’t move my feet. As it all gets too much, it’s too intense. If I’d ran, I’d clear the field…
But not the fence.”
Next is “Silver Rings,” a shimmering, mid-tempo track soaked in ’70s melancholy and analog warmth. Built on a hypnotic groove and gently swirling mellotron textures, it feels like drifting through a half-remembered dream. Berry’s vocal floats above the mix with hushed confidence, suggesting reflection and resignation without ever getting too specific. The repetition of its central melodic loop draws the listener in deeper with each pass. (“I want my heart back, I want my head back, I want my life back again.”)
It is short, sweet, and one of my favorite tracks on the album.
Elsewhere, the album takes more introspective turns. “Be Alarmed” evokes English folk-horror imagery, with acoustic guitars and spectral harmonies swirling around a pastoral melody.
“I Gotta Limit” arrives next, shifting the energy again with an upbeat, ska-inflected duet. Its punchy rhythm section and retro horn stabs make it one of the album’s catchiest and most infectious tracks. Berry and his guest vocalist, Kitty Liv (of Kitty, Daisy & Lewis), interact in a way that adds charm and sass. (“Matt: I am a man who just tries to survive, like a fish on the tide or a bee in the hive, yeah! Kitty: You are a man in the blink of an eye, went from ten to a five. Am I wrong? Am I right? Oh!”). It is great to hear their banter throughout its three-minute length.
These songs feel like sonic short stories—carefully composed and emotionally resonant. “Wedding Photo Stranger” is a slow-burning, haunting piece that radiates melancholy and disorientation. (“Don’t talk, don’t say a word. It’s not your house, it’s not your bird. Planet smashed, something’s wrong. Bride and groom, wait, hang on. Look again, I’m not high…Second right, who’s that guy?!”)
What stands out across Heard Noises is the sequencing. Berry balances playful tracks with eerie interludes. One example is the spoken-word “I Entered As I Came,” which unfolds like a ghost story recited over vintage synths. Even the briefest songs, like “Canada Dry,” leave a strong impression. Berry writes lines that suddenly shift from humorous to ominous. He shows a knack for blending whimsy and unease. Sometimes, he achieves this in a single breath (“Agents in town wearing a crown. Dinner for three, cosmic EP. Hanging from wires, fancy room fires. No one gets pissed, but here is the twist… I drank Canada Dry.”)
The closing number, “Sky High,” is a kaleidoscopic suite in miniature. It begins with childlike simplicity (“I love you, it’s true. I love you, I do”), then veers into jazzy saxophone and trumpet riffs, and ascends into a swirling, psychedelic climax. It’s an unexpected finish, but one that encapsulates the album’s range and irreverent spirit.
While Heard Noises is unmistakably retro in its textures, it never feels like mere pastiche. Even when the meaning remains ambiguous, the feeling lands.
Overall, Heard Noises is a triumph: sonically rich, structurally inventive, and delightful. It captures everything Berry does best — without ever sounding like a retread.
Whether you’re here for the vintage keyboards, the sly wit, or the unexpected poignancy, these songs offer something memorable.
There’s an element that will, trust me, linger.
https://mattberry.bandcamp.com/album/heard-noises
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Chris Garrod, August 13, 2025
