Crys Matthews - Changemakers (2021)

These days positivity can be in short supply, which is one of the things that makes Crys Matthews new collection Changemakers nothing short of incredible. The message is a simple one that Graham Nash first mentioned some 50 years ago, “We Can Change the World.” Yet Matthews puts it all on the line, speaking words of hope at every turn. No longer content with merely speaking about change, she is dedicated to making it happen, understanding that change comes when hope, justice and love intersect with a renewed ability to understand what is possible.

Matthews’ messages are impossible to ignore, yet the rhythm and bounce gets to you in ways that make sense out of the illogical. “Exactly Where You Are” brandishes banjo and fiddle brightly while making the point, “Every person’s like a book with a story that you tell,” while the chorus makes the song evermore engaging, “Hello, how’s it going/ how’s your journey been so far/ It’s nice to meet you, nice to meet you/ Exactly where you are.” Her goal is to get people out from the opposing corners to see the commonalities tying everyone together.

Dealing with the daily litany of disasters can be way too much, yet Matthews finds ways to remain hopeful even when things may appear dark, “Sitting alone in this hotel room/ TV on tuned into the news/ And it’s another day here in paradise/ mass shootings, deportations, why fight?” The answer is simple as the song “Changemakers” suggests. Amidst the guitars and keys are people who still dream of creating sustainable change. She calls on us to remember the things that we tend to forget, like the words on The Statue of Liberty, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” The call for change is alive.

There is much we need to remember in the land of liberty, “Time Machine” makes that clear with the opening line, “We are a nation built on stolen land.” Truer words were never spoken. In America, we began stealing from the moment we first reached the shores of the new world. While the lyrics speak to those of us in the new world, there is much that be gained for those on either side of the pond. Matthews speaks to all of us.

The litany of names of black Americans whose lives have been taken needlessly makes up the bulk of “How Many More.” Its damning testimony of a nation formed on all men being equal had been anything but throughout its entire existence. Yet there is hope in the form of “Call Them In,” a song dedicated to the memory of freedom fighter, John Lewis. The goal is simple, “If you have hope, you can keep going. You can keep fighting the good fight. As a social-justice songwriter, it is my duty to keep breathing that hope and encouragement into the people who listen to my music.”

Concluding the album, “Hope Revolution” makes it clear the words of America’s founding fathers can still apply, and that glass ceilings can be shattered as well. Messages of positivity matter, especially when they are written by a woman was has seen the other side of things. As “the poster-child for intersectionality,” she knows only too well about the struggles of minorities, she herself is both black and a lesbian. But what defines her is her humanity, her willingness to continue to be a positive force. Crys Matthews defines what it means to be one of the “Changemakers.”