Jay Matharu - 2026 - Disillusion

(34:09; Jay Matharu)

Track list:
1. Atrophy 3:25
2. Bare 4:37
3. Cog 3:50
4. Deluge 4:14
5. Shruti 1:35
6. Chalo 3:55
7. Butterflies 5:14
8. Bittersweet 7:18

Line-up:
Jay Matharu - guitars, keyboards
Erik Brandell - saxophone
Christine Lanusse - bass
Jacob Johnson - drums 


Prolusion.
Sweden based artist Jay Matharu has a background as a band member in a number of different bands as a recording artist as well as a live musician, covering several types of music in his various roles in those settings. But he has also released two solo albums that explore music of a different character, where elements from jazz and progressive rock are notable elements. "Disillusion" is the second of those solo albums, and was self released in the summer of 2026.

Analysis.
As with many fine musicians releasing solo material, this latest solo creation by Jay Matharu is an instrumental affair. The dominant instruments are Matharu's guitar solo runs and the saxophone solo passages of Erik Brandell, while the rhythm section serves a bit more as a steady foundation delivering careful expressive details for the solo instruments to explore upon.

The compositions here tend to open and conclude in a similar manner, which is often a more careful display, and we do get more understated sections throughout too where there is more of an interplay between the main instruments than more strict solo runs. All along with the rhythm section providing a steady foundation that more often than not has a more distinct jazz flavoring to it.

For the solo runs we do get a variety of alternating movements to enjoy. Sometimes with the saxophone and the guitar taking several turns each to deliver different solo runs in the compositions, on other occasions with one instrument or the other being a bit more dominant but always with space and room for both of these. Most of these passages tend to stick to the more elegant and atmospheric laden side of matters, and the saxophone dominated passages in particular, but Matharu does showcase that he has a good ear for elegant, plucked solo displays just as much as the elegant as well as the more aggressive aspects of the kind of guitar runs Al Di Meola used to explore back in the day too. With a little bit of more modern guitar hero style guitar antics to boot, with some passages reminding me a bit more about an artist such as Joe Satriani.

That Matharu has a past in metal bands also comes into play here, with some nice, meaty guitar riff slabs finding their way into the composition 'Cog', while on  'Butterflies' we are treated to a dark toned, distorted and chaotic display where all members contribute to a more primal sounding but expressive variety of metal inspired landscapes one of the later stages of this creation.

Some additional flavoring to enjoy are bits and pieces of what might be world music or Latin inspired instrument details appearing on occasion, and as a standalone feature we have the slow moving, guitar note resonances of the interlude piece 'Shruti' to enjoy.

Conclusion.
What Jay Matharu has in store for us on his second solo album are landscapes that combines the smooth and elegant displays of jazzrock explored within a progressive rock inspired structure, flavored with elements from world music and guitar displays that also draw in certain aspects from the hard rock and heavy metal traditions. A solid production to seek out if an always elegant and often subtly expressive foray into this blend of landscapes strikes you as an intriguing one to explore. 

Olav "Progmessor" Björnsen, August 2026

Links:
https://jaymatharu.com/