Now this is a creative departure. Whereas 'Stories and Alibis' was full of hooks and melodies, and perhaps a little on the musically immature side, Matchbook Romance have moved over to the dark side, listened to Muse records and penned a record that's...well, massively different from their Epitaph debut. Gone are the instant hooks and in their place are sprawling, chugging guitar riffs and breakdowns that aren't as catchy as their predecessors. But this is not a bad thing at all - while some of the slower songs take a lot of listening to 'get', on the whole this is excellent. Although the bands don't sound similar, imagine the progression Brand New made between 'Your Favorite Weapon' and 'Deja Entendu' - Matchbook Romance have made a similar leap.
The orchestra-laden, progressive six-minute plus 'Goody, Like Two Shoes' is simply stunning. It's catchy and melodic but reasonably uncoventional as the guitars soar and the drums rattle alongside Andrew Jordan's voice, which incidentally has moved away from generic emo wannabe to a star in his own right. 'Monsters' is much more forceful and like the old band, possibly even a contender for first single, while 'Surrender' is darker than any other song MR have ever recorded.
Throughout the album there's a theme of claustrophobia; the 'voices' in someone's head telling them what to do and how they can't seem to escape from them. The vocal melodies are very Matt Bellamy - more in structure than in sound - so songs like 'Surrender' sound like a very different band from the Matchbook Romance of old. There's a chugging guitar riff 150 seconds in which explodes brilliantly, basically pissing over the band of old in fine style. On the flip side a couple of songs haven't quite made as big an impact on me - I found 'You Can Run, But We'll Find You' quite hard work, while 'Say It Like It Is' is another which hasn't yet grown on me.
'Voices' is a massive musical leap and while it doesn't break any boundaries it certainly stretches the ones that many other bands of this ilk have set themselves. While not as good as 'Deja Entendu', fans of recent releases by Armor For Sleep and Gatsbys American Dream will be really impressed by this. Matchbook Romance have certainly upped their game and the results, in the main, are very impressive. While fans may be initially disappointed with the lack of killer hooks and instant melodies, give it time - this is definitely a grower and the more you listen the more rewarding it gets.
www.matchbookromance.com
epitaph
Paul
