Time for another singer songwriter. The world is fast running out of natural resources but not singer songwriters so it would seem, so now we have Matthew Glenn Thompson who hails from Memphis but you'd never guess it from his songs.
First of all, you've got to give him credit for being a songwriter for the mainstream. He just doesn't do quirkiness and is not in anyway oddball. Instead, he writes the kind of songs that you would hear on shows like the X Factor. Well constructed and not lacking in melody - you know the kind of thing. "End of the Parade" is a perfect example of that and that rather safe and somewhat unadventurous feel continues through most of the rest of the album except for the sterling "Ordinary Girl" that shows a real feel for pop music and it's certainly the kind of song that keeps you going through an entire summer. On this one, Mr Thompson manages to bring both Eric Lindell and Gary B ↦ The Notions to mind (no bad thing in my mind).
"The Garden and the Arcade" makes for pleasant listening but I reckon Matthew Glenn Thompson will need a bit more than an "Ordinary Girl" to break through to the big time.