‘Enervated’ means ‘drained of energy or vitality’ and in this latest release from Manchester-based artist Matthew Birch of that title, we hear one person’s perspective living through these strange times. Yet the song is hugely identifiable and relatable and you’ll no doubt find some of yourself within it. Whilst we might be filled with wanderlust, daydreaming of where we’d rather be, for many of us our lives have changed dramatically. This is a song about that human desire to connect with others and to see the world yet being unable to do so. Birch himself explains: “Being stuck inside and missing out on travel has been the hardest bit. I can’t wait to get on a plane and find out what the sun looks like again.”
Beautiful guitar melodies interweave with a mellow groove - the bass is a little reminiscent of early Kings of Leon. Birch’s voice is soothing with a rich tone, and is thickened by his own harmonies and backing vocals as the song evolves. The accompanying music video is full of kooky British charm, with Matthew’s face tinted by red light as kooky animations take up the right-hand side of the screen. The video then erupts into scenes in nature - sunsets, tides, fire, and also into cities and fireworks, as if fragments of our imagination, our desires or our memories.
Watch the video here:
A web developer by occupation, Birch currently works for an online gaming company. Taking inspiration from the likes of Coldplay, Newton Faulkner, Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Gravenhurst, Tesseract, Weezer and Deftones, Matthew studied music and music technology where he learnt the basics of recording and mixing. He has since set up a home studio where he has been writing and recording prolifically. After sitting on so many songs, for so long, it has become about time to share them. We think you’ll thoroughly enjoy listening to ‘Enervated’ as we have - it’s a luscious blend of acoustic pop with something slightly darker and reminds us that we’re all on the same page, united by a shared longing to live our lives to the full.