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**1/2 Matt Newberg and Maybe Utah

FOR A FIVE

(Cedarhawk Music)

It’s great to have Matt Newberg back in town after what was about a year’s hiatus. His humorous, laid-back, acoustic stylings make for great beer-drinking music and Newberg has always been almost totally free of pretension. This newest effort, therefore, shouldn’t come as any surprise. Throughout the disc, Newberg’s honest, guy-next-door lyrics coalesce with upbeat guitar strumming, occasional bluegrass and Dixieland influences, and simple percussion to make for a fun little nugget of local songcraft. (It’s slightly less rocking than the Barlo Igns backed Carpenter’s Hands, but not as singer/songwriter as Goin’ Back Home.) Of course, there will be some who are put off by tunes like the one that lends the album its name, “For a Five.” “You can’t get shit for a five these days,” the song opens, “. . . it won’t get you a tank of gas or a new pair of tennis shoes.” Newberg is almost too ironic for his own good. If he was screaming at the top of his lungs in an emo band, everyone would think he had real funny lyrics, but with his children’s song voice there may be a tendency to write him off as just that — kid’s stuff. Thatýwould be a mistake. “Not Free” is a throwback to folk songs that tell a story, and send a message. And, again, Newburg approaches the song with child-like innocence. “It slides right off your tongue like any other word/ I stand and flinch, can’t believe what I just heard/ ‘How many blacks live in your home state?’ Very few but that’s not what makes it great.” That’s right, a good, old-fashioned anti-racism song — glad to hear it. But Newberg’s tune (though the music is a minor-key departure from the rest of the album) doesn’t quite convey the anger he’s expressing. The voice is just too similar to the fun voice that loves Maine towns and GMC trucks. He’s still developing, however, and he’s surrounded himself with great musicians in Maybe Utah’s Matt Guite (drums) and Tony Simmons (bass), as well as guests like Eric Anderson on tuba and Gregg Hoover on guitar. It’s likely Newberg will eventually come to master the art of being serious and fun at the same time like Shel Silverstein, whose “Stone Airplane” inspires the “Stone Air” found here. And wait for the last, hidden track. It’s a pretty fun horn-romp.

— Sam Pfeifle