The Audio of Being is one of the few CD's I've actually bothered to purchase on the day of release. ..one of my motives being to pick up the limited edition version before it sold out (Marketing -- can't live with it, can't live with it!)... but, to tell the truth, it was more because of the fact that, after listening to Beautiful Midnight, I wanted more of that Matthew Good Band sound. Because, let's face it - Beautiful Midnight KICKED ASS. ...Loser Anthems, on the other hand...

I'll start this off by saying that The Audio of Being is a great piece of work. Better than Beautiful Midnight you ask? Well... it's a different kind of fantastic. You don't get the feeling of instant gratification that you did with Beautiful Midnight, which could be perceived as good or bad depending on your reasons for listening to music. Are you willing to give an album the benefit of the doubt, or do your first impressions dictate everthing you listen to?

The reason I say this is because I had to give The Audio of Being some time before it really started to grow on me. The first track is incredible, and the same can be said for Carmelina (track no. 2), but after that, the energized feeling dissipates for several songs (This album definately has its moods; Matthew Good himself described it as schizophrenic... so there you have it).

One truly noteworthy trait of The Audio of Being is Matthew Good's vocals - his vocal range has increased after he quit smoking, and it appears he's trying different things with his voice. For instance, on 'The Rat Who Would Be King', Matthew Good's voice takes on a quality reminiscent of Thom York from Radiohead. Anyway, nothing major, but it's a slight improvement I suppose, in terms of the music itself. Just for the record, this also happens to be one of the most professionally produced albums I've ever had the pleasure of listening to (and admiring). It sounds incredibly polished and tweaked to the point of perfection, and the equivalent of this greatness can be seen in the packaging (even if it is a little on the odd side).

Every time I pop The Audio of Being in for a quick listen, it usually ends up being a somewhat longer endeavor than I'd first planned on .. but is this collection of abstract better than Beautiful Midnight? ... ... do you want an answer? Yes, it's better. It's fabulous, in fact, and that's all there is to it - and if you have any sense about you, you'd best pick up this CD as soon as possible. Unless, for various reasons, you're bed ridden, too old to walk, or an infant.. in which case, pay somebody off, so that they can pick it up for you.

ARTIST: Matthew Good Band

ALBUM TITLE: The Audio of Being

NUMBER OF TRACKS: 12

LENGTH OF ALBUM: 63 minutes, 21 seconds

FAVOURITE TRACKS: Tripoli, Carmelina, The Fall of Man

QUALITY: 4.8/5