Only a handful of artists are welcome in the email tray so many times. Dea Matrona has been pipped, passed and produced as the next sensation. Senders who call their work the very best of the bubbling rock movement in Belfast. They are not wrong. For Your Sins, their welcome debut work, is easily positioned as one of the best albums from the historic area. A neat, post-drinks device is For Your Sins. Pull yourself into that cold office and warm the mind with debut works from those bands leading a charge into rock’s next generation. Something will rip the bags from under your eyes and if slick guitar riffs and stern lyrics reminiscent of their overwhelming influences do not do it then little else will. Dea Matrona remain undeterred by the big questions and hammer home their thoughts – even if they, like all of ours, have no idea what the future holds.
Opener For Your Sins does well to cement this unwavering and somewhat refreshing dependency on their influences. When the likes of Greta Van Fleet continue to mock their way to the top of the charts while lifting characterless expressions of Led Zeppelin, it is rewarding to hear a duo who knows how to toe the line between influence and innovation. Dea Matrona does well not to be sucked into the inevitable void of period sound without a voice of their own. They are still the confident duo they were when Red Button was released. For Your Sins is a keen indicator of a strong album not lighting the personal fires. Not every album should. We can sway to its quality all we like but finding some flicker of yourself in a piece of work is not the end goal for all records. For Your Sins is certainly personable and has a wonderfully consistent tone running through it. Dea Matrona has a confident grip on their sound, and it makes for an exceptional set of rock and ready tracks which feature the influences of their hometown, particularly Red Button.
Their focus on sin has them level off with a huge concept for their debut album, and while it may sound like the duo has bitten off more than they can chew at times, easing through For Your Sins is a consistent experience of bold guitars and brash lyricism. There are calls to take arms constantly, for the sake of battling against those moments of temptation. Red Button remains catchy but where the duo comes to life is on the likes of Every Night I Want You, They take brief steps into uncharted territory to figure out where their sound could go next, and they provide smooth, indie-styled guitar riffs with floaty vocal work. For Your Sins develops well and little flickers of their underlying instrumental work remain wonderful parts of their reflective tone. Shifting into those lighter grooves for So Damn Dangerous is a reawakening for their sound, a comfortable change of pace shining a light on their dependable sound.
Flickers of what makes the East Riding folk music boom so enduring can be found in the rooted history of a track like Glory, Glory (I Am Free) with rising strings and slick guitar work. Dea Matrona is an exceptional sum of their clear influences and ambitious drive. Their calmer flow and acoustic wonder take an almost country swing in the latter tracks, notably Dead Man’s Heart. A few lapses here or there are squared up with a swinging guitar range which will never not impress. Dea Matrona has on their hands what everyone had hoped for them – a solid debut which gets the duo off and running after a period of hard graft in the lead-up. Exceptional spots, steady rock charm and all the light joys promised by their singles.
