Entering the upper echelons of our top-20 countdown, we find the talented Australian singer-songwriter Scott Matthew (who lives in NY) firmly ensconced in number 10. His self-titled début, eagerly awaited by those that loved his work in the Shortbus soundtrack, does not disappoint. Far from it. Not resting on the laurels heaped upon him after the Shortbus, instead he moves his work to new paths, with the constant of his vulnerable, sensuous voice (sounding so much like David Bowie that one wonders what the Duke was doing in Australia nine months before Scott was born) making this album an amazing treat. Delicately knifing you through the heart with each one of his carefully crafted eleven little blades, from the gorgeously fragile Amputee to the hauntingly elegant Market Me To Children that closes the album, it is hard to not shed tears while delving deep within his amazing music.
