A justifiable re-release to celebrate this beautiful song's nomination for an Ivor Novello 'Best Song' award.
Back in September 2006 Scott Matthews was an up and coming singer-songwriter whose debut single 'Elusive' was introuduced to roomthirteen by myself thus:
"Scott Matthews hails from Wolverhampton, and recorded debut album 'Passing Stranger', from which single 'Elusive' is taken, in Birmingham's Artisan Studios. He recently supported the Foo Fighters in Hyde Park, a surprising fact given that his musical style is as far from theirs as a tropical beach is from a Scottish traffic jam in the rain. Rather than crashing guitars and angsty lyrics, Scott Matthews delivers soft and strong music with a bluesy folk feel reminiscent of Jeff Buckley and (thankfully) a million miles away from the too-commercial James Blunt.
'Elusive' has received heavy play from BBC Radio 6, and it's easy to hear why. Opening with stringed instruments playing low and softly, Scott's gorgeous vocals soon enter, husky yet sweet, refined yet hinting at a potentially wide range. The central tune of the song progresses steadily throughout the track and never becomes dull – in fact after listening to 'Elusive' once you'll probably want to hit the 'back' button and play it again. Mr. Matthews avoids the singer-songwriter trap of using only the guitar as a backing instrument, and there is an interesting selection of percussion to listen to in addition to the stringed instruments."
In June 2007 Scott Matthews has achieved the success he deserves and 'Elusive' is being justifiably re-released with a shiny new cover on the 25th of this month to celebrate its nomination for the Ivor Novello award 'Best Song Musically and Lyrically'. 'Passing Stranger', the album 'Elusive' appears on will also be re-released in July, accompanied by a bonus disc featuring Mr. Matthews performing tracks from the album with a string quartet. If you didn't manage to catch Scott Matthews first time around there is no excuse to overlook his talent now.