Mat Thorpe is an alchemist of the highest order, the embodiment of emotional depth, mutating metamorphosis, and esoteric exploration. He’s a purveyor of pensive musings, sentimental flashbacks and nocturnal nostalgia. Previously a singer-songwriter for the band Isolation/Division, Thorpe’s music is steeped in Manchester’s rich heritage, as well as evolving beyond his roots. Having joined the Post-punk, goth band The March Violets initially during the Homecoming Reunion gig in 2007, and then becoming a permanent addition in 2024, Thorpe has now released a solo album Mancunian Primitive. Released on 20th March 2026, Mancunian Primitive is a stunning work of art, a musical mural, that gets up close, personal and deep within the dark recesses of the human psyche, evoking a sense of eternal optimism and sunshine melancholy. Comprised of 11 tracks, Mancunian Primitive, goes back to the basics of post-punk, creating a soul gathering of spoken-word, visceral vocals, stripped down acoustics and reverie riffs. It’s an immaculate collection, that unravelling the raw emotion embedded deep within the primal self, that staggers, streams and surges to the surface.
As an album,Mancunian Primitive is sheer poetry, locked in the a spin of seasonal shifts, celebrating the impermanence of life, whilst feeling the intermittent breeze of regeneration. Versatile and pensive,Mancunian Primitive, is a soul renewal, a folklore of dark romanticism, intermixed with a Renaissance Neo-classicism. It’s an album that time capsules Thorpe’s individualism, raw sentiments and divine dexterity, whilst embracing the cyclical nature of emotions. As a singer-songwriter, Thorpe is a modest mix of isolated introspection and majestic musings. He’s the engaging enigma, that reaches out, whilst remaining mysteriously aloof. Along with his virtuoso guitar playing, and nocturnal narratives, Thorpe drifts into an abstract underworld of showmanship likened to Vini Reilly, Dave Fielding, JJ Burnel and Brian Eno. He’s as gifted as they come, and could weave a thousand threads in just one take.
What’s great about Thorpe is his contemporary approach, his refreshing renewal of traditional goth-rock and alternative rock. He’s not a one-trick pony, more a shimmery unicorn, marching through the mist of melancholy with a torch of fierce solidarity. Listening to Mancunian Primitive, time-travels back to the origins of alternative rock, without being overly committed to one state. It’s a moving motion of emotion, sailing on the coast of Martha’s harbour, reciting the lost words of Curtis & Clannad in the wilderness of neo-folk, navigating through the smog of Industrial punk, whilst catapulting to the celestial skies of neo-prog-rock. It’s an album, of daydream depth that orbits, spins, rotates and liberates from the stereotypes, and cliches of alternative rock. It’s an original album that hallmarks Thorpe as a “cosmonaut of his own inner space“, looking within, whilst journeying into unknown territories.
Through the opening track, “Close for Comfort”, Thorpe sends an intimate invite to join him in a solitude sanctuary of fleeting words, and spinning strums, that circumnavigate the dark matter of its existence. It’s a beautiful introduction, whose extended interval of instrumentals, sets the tone, the sonic chiaroscuros and abstract narratives of this delightful album.
Along with the second track “Forget to Breathe”, Thorpe shines from the skies of classic goth rock, whilst peering through the telescope of neo-folk. It’s a windswept wonder, whose eerie mist rises above the plucky strums and vocal prowess.
As for the third track, “Angel Meadow”, Thorpe takes a wander down the arcane alleyways of post-punk, and regresses back to the sonic slums of neo-folk. It’s a melodic catharsis, whose extended acoustics , ingeniously captures the haunting footprints of its abandoned past.
“Every Boy, Every Girl Born Equal”, is the beautiful fourth track, whose dreaming riffs and overlapping strums, cascade like feathers from the heavenly realms of an altered state. It’s an exquisite track, that unravels a diaphanous layer of ethereal rock, whilst colliding with the gritty debris of post-punk.
“Only Time Defeats”, is a compelling fifth track, that revisits the foundations of classic goth-rock and unearths the ghostly harmonies of past lives. It’s a duality of iron-clad grit and misty-eyed acoustics, that levitates down the stairways of goth-rock, whilst drifting towards solid post-punk. Along with the raw vocals, and industrial slams, Only Time Defeats, is an all-consumming affair, that encapsulates the essence, core emotion and atmospheric ambience of the whole album.
Such textured tones continue with the mesmerising track “Magdalene Laundry No 61”. As track number six, Magdalene Laundry No 61, flutters, morphs and mutates between the parallel universes of post-punk, Krautrock and synth-rock. Intricate, meticulous and multi-faceted, Magdalene Laundry No 61, quantum leaps into the cosmos of prog-rock, whilst remaining loyal to its goth-rock origins. It’s a stroke of genius, a master of guises that stuns and space-hops onto the digital drones of dark-wave, whilst remaining carefree and experimental.
“Little Italy”, is a majestic track, a seasonal shift, that rises with a flock of synths, migrating in a haze of sunshine dew. It’s a grandiose of post-punk, marching in unison, beating in solidarity, amongst the flutey flutters, whilst heading towards the back alleys of Industrial rock.
“Hope of The People”, tinkles in the misty meadows of sunshine optimism, and dances in the dream bubbles of neo-classicism. It’s a sublime track, that sleepwalks into an underworld of lucid lullabies and utopian dreams. Through the virtuoso guitars and elated synths, Hope Of The People, awakens the senses, whilst lifting the spirit to a higher state of consciousness.
“Wrap Your Arms Around Me” emerges from the mind fog, harmonising from the shadows of neo-folk and taking comfort from the sonic shelters of post-punk. It’s a hauntingly beautiful track, an excavation of goth-rocks, that unearths the past, whilst seeing light through the historical cracks. Through the crestfallen vocals, rotating riffs and silhouette strums, Wrap Your Arms Around Me, is a track that reaches out, whilst remaining mysteriously aloof.
“Jaded (Radio edit)/ Jaded” is a soul collective, that burns from the embers of neo-folk, and forms an ancestral alliance with goth rock. It’s an inflamed chant of baroque-rock, that sweeps you across a rugged soundscape of celtic–folk. Through the dual harmonies and elongated vocals, Jaded orchestrates a symphony of sonics, that invokes the music gods and reawakens the sleeping deities. Along with the translucent tinkles, and lucid luminance, Jaded rises from the flames of rebirths, whilst rotating in a devil dust of ash. It’s a sublime track, that beats and rattles in the heart of post-punk, whilst remaining a communal connection with its primitive lineage.
‘It could be so much Easier” is testament to Thorpe’s versatility and diversity as an artist. Through the inferno of Spanish-esque strums, and nimble-fingered riffs, It could be so Easier, rumbles through the weatherbeaten shores of alternative rock, whilst taking an exotic excursion to neo-classicism. It’s a track that shines, surrenders and multiples in style and origins, whilst containing the ebb and flow of its currents.
Website – https://www.matthorpe.co.uk/
“Mancunian Primitive” is released on Friday 20th March 2026 and is available to buy on Bandcamp and CD, with a limited number of hand made prints available if you buy the CD.