Northcote
Gravel-throated folk rock with a hardcore heart. Anthemic, earnest songs for long highway stretches and small-town sunsets.
Gravel-throated folk rock with a hardcore heart. Anthemic, earnest songs for long highway stretches and small-town sunsets.
Northcote sounds like the honest middle ground between a basement punk show and a dusty folk festival. Matthew Goud’s voice is the centerpiece: a weathered, soulful rasp that carries the weight of the road and the warmth of a second chance. It is music that feels lived-in, featuring acoustic guitars that aren't afraid to be played hard and arrangements that swell with a natural, unforced energy.
What truly sets this project apart is the 'punk-rock-gone-roots' DNA. While the instrumentation is traditional, the delivery has the urgency and emotional transparency of the hardcore scene Goud emerged from. There is a specific kind of Canadian prairie vastness in the sound, a sense of wide-open spaces and the quiet resilience required to navigate them. It avoids the preciousness of indie folk in favor of something more muscular and blue-collar.
Start with 'Hope Is Made of Steel' to hear the definitive Northcote sound. It perfectly captures the balance of gritty vocals and uplifting, anthemic songwriting. If you prefer something more intimate, his debut EP 'Borrowed Chords, Tired Eyes' offers a raw look at his transition into the solo moniker.
Northcote, moniker of musician Matthew Daniel Goud (born May 17, 1985), is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His voice is described as similar to Bruce Springsteen, Joe Cocker, Peter Gabriel, as well as a more refined projection of his former hardcore roots. Northcote has shared the stage with Frank Turner, The Gaslight Anthem, Tim Barry, Wintersleep, Aidan Knight, Hannah Georgas, John K Samson (Weakerthans, Propaghandi), Corb Lund, The Wooden Sky, Library Voices, Lindi Ortega and others. Northcote has released six studio albums to date. In 2009, shortly after signing to Blackbox Music, Northcote recorded his debut EP, “Borrowed Chords, Tired Eyes” in the back of a yoga studio in Regina, Saskatchewan. In 2011, Northcote went on to record his first full-length album, "Gather No Dust", at Jukasa Studios in Caledonia, Ontario. The album was co-produced by Dan Weston (Attack in Black, Shad, City and Color, Daniel Romano). In late 2012, Goud entered Hive Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, to record the self-titled album, "Northcote", with Juno-winning producer, Colin Stewart (Dan Mangan, Yukon Blonde, Cave Singers, Black Mountain). The record was written in Goud’s van along the Victoria British Columbia waterfront. The album Hope Is Made of Steel was released in 2015. Let Me Roar was released in 2020.
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