The Watchful Ear review of Non Group "Double Negative" (2010)
"(...) This recording seems to have got a few people’s backs up, but for me it is an interesting experiment that investigates the way we each hear improvised musical sounds. For me the samples in Double Negative are obviously samples, and their origin are mostly familiar to me. Is this the same for everyone though? Are only those very familiar with improvised music able to identify that this is not a live recording? If sounds taken completely out of their originally intended context can still sound quite good when appropriated for a completely different work just how directly connected were they to the original recording in the first place? We might all have very different answers to these questions dependent on our individual viewpoints, which is why I think Double Negative is a valuable exercise. Fortunately we can all go and sample it for free here." - Richard Pinnell
The Watchful Ear review of "Document and Sentiment" (2009)
"The third track, entitled Document and Sentiment, by Matthew Mullane is one of my favourite tracks on the compilation. This one was definitely pieced together on a computer from pre-recorded elements. The track opens with a heavy droning sound that could have been made from treated recordings of stringed instruments, but could just as easily be something completely different, undercut by a just about audible high pitched sound, possibly a falsetto voice. Bar a few metallic rustles this is all we hear for a while until eveything cuts dead and we hear a slightly unnerving recording of what sounds like an out of breath old man on the toilet (but probably isn’t!) alongside a dreamy Eno-esque piano motif and the sound of keys or metal chains being rattled about. The vocal sounds continue to the end of the five minute piece and work really well here, their wordless, guttural nature having an oddly percussive role in the music, which doesn’t overstay its welcome, and has a well produced structure to it that stands out (...)" - Richard Pinnell
Ear Conditional Nightmare review of "Late Clothes" (2009)
"First side belongs to Fabric, which seems like an electronic project pointed towards thick ambient techno structures. First piece, "Long Coat, A Robe," is total open cavern drift, spaced out lasers shooting eternal beams into the dark and lighting galaxies far beyond our own color viewing sensibilities. "And a Borrowed Shirt" takes it down past the night for a second, laying you by some seaside cliff at night, with only blacks and thick blues intermingling with the dark greens of shrubs around you. Beautiful stuff, melodic without even approaching cheesy electro melody ambient stuff. "Wrapped in Silver Rags"--I'm sensing a story in these titles here--goes into some open tuning strum that maintains all the color around the notes that the electronic stuff does, building a bristling drip-world of color that glides as much as it punctures. Everything across these six tracks is as deeply magical and carefully treated as the rest, a delicate balance between sheer sonic energy and guided precision."
Earlabs review of "Thatch/Hut" (2008)
"If you've ever had a conversation with a person that has lived a relatively reclusive, contemplative life, then you know that the dialogue can be sparse with lots of space between words. However, the content is rich, insightful, and worth savoring. With this in mind, I'd recommend listening to Matthew Mullane's Thatch (and its counterpart Hut) to experience a similar exchange in the language of music."
Disquiet review of "A-7" (2008)
"Titled “A-7″ the track begs the question if someone is ever truly playing solo when every note reverberates for several seconds before it even begins to fade from recognition, and several more before it fades from memory. Mullane’s lovely effort feeds on the simple truth that feedback keeps the recent past present."
Above is also included in Disquiet's "Guitronic Mix: 6 Solo 6-Strings" with Giuseppe Iealsi, Mark Templeton, Aidan Baker and others.
