16. April 2025
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Media Review

Matt Stell – Better Than That EP

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

Matt Stell - Better Than That

Matt Stell - Better Than That
4

Rating

 4.0/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Great voice and nice melodies
  • Some lovely songs
  • Eight track EP

Flyctory.com Cons

  • The country rock tracks are quite close to each other

Matt Stell seemed to had many options to pursue a professional career, but finally went for country music. Better Than That is already the third EP of the Arkansas artist. He released the songs on 16th October 2020.

 

Matt Stell – About The Artist

Matthew Neal Stell was born on 19th April 1986 in Center Ridge, Arkansas. He initially felt promising rather in basketball. After having a masters degree in communication, he felt like turning into a medical career, but then his first publishing deal stopped this route and he became a musician. He released three albums independently in the early 2013 – unfortunately, I just could find the last one, A River Through It, released in March 2013. It took a couple of years until Stell stepped into the focus of the country music scene. His first EP, the 2018 Last of the Best, contained the single Prayed For You, which received good critics and also lead to a record deal and to 15 million streams on Spotify only. In 2019, he released his second EP, Everywhere but On.

 

Matt Stell – Better Than That – Track by Track

The eight song EP lasts 25 minutes.

1. Everywhere But On

Naughty or nice? At quite a bunch of CDs, you can already tell if this will be a nice experience by  listening to the first tunes. Everywhere But On makes me feel very comfortable with Matt Stell’s music. Nice voice, powerful recording and nice lyrics. Nice beginning.

2. If I Was a Bar

I’d have an all-night Happy Hour
With the coldest beer in town
La-Z-Boys for bars stools
And taps that don’t run out
I’d have every kinda whiskey
And that one red wine you don’t like
The kind of place you’d never be caught dead inside

No matter if it is a bar, a beer or another kind of alcoholic amusement, self-reflections and comparisons about adult-only drinking experiences seem to be quite fancy in Nashville nowadays. I don’t really fancy these kind of songs, but I just cannot argue that this country-rocker is not a good one.

3. Prayed For You

‘Cause every single day, before I knew your name
I couldn’t see your face, but I prayed for you
Every heartbreak trail when all hope fell
On the highway to hell, I prayed for you
I kept my faith like that old King James
Said I’m supposed to
It’s hard to imagine, bigger than I could fathom
I didn’t know you from Adam but I prayed for you

Melodically, this is one of the best songs of the whole EP to me. Really beautifully told love song. Strangely, this is the second publication of that song – it has already been the leading single of the Everything But On EP.

4. Better Than That

Matt Stell is just continuing to do what is strong at: doing powerful modern country songs – majorly about love. Luckily , there are some beautiful slow tracks on the EP as well – otherwise, it could have a touch of being just too much.

5. I Love You Too

Okay, this is not a song about believing to be a bar, obviously. The song is still quite powerful, but a bit softer than others before. I am again impressed by the beautiful way the melody is set up.

6. Sadie

There are a couple of pissed off in the lyrics, so that you might spot the Explicit Lyrics button somewhere. Nice song, but it is just not my favorite.

7. Chase it Down

If it was the a song on the radio, I am sure I woul dlove to listen to Chase it Down. On this collection of songs, it just feels to have a tough time to stand against the other songs. It is well done, but does not have that special moment.

8. Look at Me Now

It is quite remarkable to have an eight track EP nowadays. The album finishes with the slowest and most intimate song of all on Better Than That. Matt Stell describes the feelings during his wedding. To me, it is by far the best song of the EP – simply a beauty!

 

Matt Stell – Better Than That – Spotify

Here is Better Than That on Spotify

 

Matt Stell – Better Than That – My View

Well done, Matt Stell. No doubt, this is an artist to enjoy. His melodies are beautiful, his voice is indeed characteristic and powerful. Sometimes, I simply long for some more variety in the songs. Even though Look at Me Now touches me that much, I would still just rate it to be a good EP, not a very good one. But I am definitely looking forward for more songs by this artist.

 

Country Music EP Reviews

Here are all my reviews of EPs dealing with Country Music:

 

ATP Tennis

Here is my coverage about ATP Male Professional Tennis Tour events:

 

 

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