This came out in 1999 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
For a guy following up a platinum album — that would be 1997’s Underdogs — Vancouver’s Matthew Good is playing it pretty cool.
The publicity photos for Beautiful Midnight feature him in a gorilla mask. Not exactly your typical pop-star turn. Fortunately, neither are the intelligent, well-crafted slices of thinking man’s guitar-rock that make up Beautiful Midnight. Somewhat like a Canadian Matthew Sweet, Good’s post-grunge power-pop gems have dark edges and moody, free-flowing undercurrents that anchor the roaming guitars and soaring vocals. Capable of merging the jangly introspection of R.E.M. and the sonic oomph of Pearl Jam into a sound all his own, Good may well be Canada’s best contemporary songwriter. As for the ear-catchingly produced Beautiful Midnight, it sure lives up to its name.
