Many of us can link a certain album to pivotal moments in our lives. Whether it’s the first record you bought with your own money, the chord you first learnt to play on guitar, the song that soundtracked your first kiss, the album that got you those awkward and painful pubescent years or the one that set off light bulbs in your brain and inspired you to take a big leap of faith into the unknown – music is often the catalyst for change in our lives and can even help shape who we become.
In this Love Letter To A Record series, Music Feeds asks artists to reflect on their relationship with music and share with us stories about the effect music has had on their lives.
Matthew Damon, Captives – Shihad, The General Electric (1999)
One of the first albums I purchased as a kid and still an album I throw into my monthly rotation. I was just 7 years old when this album dropped and it hit me like a truck. This album was a pillar in creating my love for music and drums in particular.
My Minds Sedate and The General Electric make you want to smash through walls and sing along with Jon Toogood (what a frontman). Not many albums give you that buzz, but this album stands the test of time for me.
As a drummer, Tom Larkin was an idol of mine growing up. He has loads of power and it shines on this record. So, getting to create records with Tom as I grew up was a personal highlight and shaped me into the player I am today. I still try to mimic his playing.
When watching Shihad live, the songs from The General Electric get the crowd moving in a different way to anything else they’ve released, even 20+ years on.
P.s – Find me a bigger sounding album. I’ll wait!!!
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Melbourne punk-rockers CAPTIVES return with their new album ‘Return To Mars’, out Thursday, March 31. Pre-save here. Catch them touring the East Coast and Adelaide in April and May.
