Considering the relative obscurity from which some of the ever intrepid Epitaph records roster artists come from, Matchbook Romance are somewhat of an anomaly. Even more so when you examine the extent to which the label caters for slightly more… shall we say more traditional punk bands… Pennywise, Bad Religion and The Dropkick Murphys to mention but a few. So Matchbook Romance stand out like a sore thumb in comparison with their blend of punk rock emo and all out rock… needless to say it’s no bad thing, had Epitaph not picked up this band in late 2001 then maybe we wouldn’t now have Voices, their second album silencing critics of the band across the globe.
Opening track “You can Run But We’ll Find You” cascades into an undoubtedly emotional track via a piano introduction leading us gracefully into the deliberately darker feel of this sophomore release from the still young band.
“Surrender” follows carrying with it a markedly heavier tone than the majority of the bands previous works and stands out as a remarkably catchy track. Fear not though, fans of the heavier material as track three “My Mannequin Can Dance” rips apart any of those conspiracy theorists claiming that Matchbook Romance are emo. Some most definite metal riffs occurring half way through this song put that theory safely to bed.
“Goody, Like Two Shoes” slows the pace down after the frantic thrashing of the previous two tracks and leads us falsely into the sense that the track may be slow and gentle, opening up into nothing less than a rock operetta as it soars gracefully into the most anticipated track of the album… Monsters.
“Monsters” the bands first single taken from this album (track five) opens with an eerie, but somehow mystifying introduction of spooky guitar plucking and absorbing bass line until it suddenly, post a few hand claps along the way bursts into an addictive, portrait of everything the album is gradually proving to be. A cross section, if you will.
“Say it Like You Mean It” on the other hand really is a slower paced ballad (for the majority of the song at least) and most certainly appeals to fans of the softer side of the bands work, where as “Portrait” sounds as indie as it is fresh; that is, a lot. It’s rolling bass keeping you hooked all the way through the riff clad ode to the electric guitar.
Track eight, “Singing Bridges” opens with a mournful yet enticing, almost Silverchair esque crawl into a distinctively slow paced track which echo’s sadness and a darkness which the album has purveyed throughout.
“Fiction” track nine demonstrates Andrew Jordan (vocals) has the ability to sing when required and scream when necessary as this song acts as yet another genre-bashing track, refusing to be tied down to punk, rock, or dare I say it having come this far, emo.
The penultimate track on Voices, “What A Sight” once again gracefully descends into a slow paced rock operetta, proving within the song that the lyricism behind this band is as proficient as the song writing. Deep, meaningful, and carefully crafted into a perfect combination.
Following the lulled “What A Sight”, the final track “I Wish You Were here” carried obvious connotations of song content and slowly, acoustically builds up a sorrowful tale and eloquently closes the album in a low note… a note leaving expectation high of their next release… for which I for one can’t wait.
Matchbook Romance may not be the next big thing but they have fundamentally proven that genres are there simply to be broken. A mixture of sounds erupt from this album and fans of bands such as Alkaline Trio, Halifax and anything remotely similar will undoubtedly be pleased with the results. Epitaph may have confused some folks with the signing of this band, but undoubtedly Mr Gurewitz the label (and punk band Bad Religion’s) head honcho is onto a winner here, and good luck to him too, Voices is a scrupulously complete piece of work, other bands take note, 2006 may just be the year of Matchbook Romance.
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