Easily confused with Matchbox 20 but completely dissimilar in music, Matchbook Romance has achieved artistic greatness with their recent sophomore release, Voices.
The Poughkeepsie, N.Y., band deserves more credit than merely being listed with endless amounts of pop-punk bands that have appeared in the music scene in the last four years.
Voices is an album that both hits hard in every aspect and demonstrates Matchbook Romance at its best. Although traditional fans may find the new album quite a softer change from Matchbook Romance’s debut, Stories and Alibis, new listeners will find Voices to be a refreshing taste in harder pop-punk.
The first song on the set, “You Can Run, but We’ll Find You” is a climatic start to an album of guitar-laden rock. The beginning of the track starts with a mellow piano piece, followed by a progressive bass line and then aggressive lyrics that set the tone of the song.
A fine guitar interlude follows as the piece reaches its ultimate finish. The track is only one example of the band’s eagerness to hit heavy and please listeners. The following track, “Surrender” continues the harder guitar riffs started during the first track. The emotional lyrics “Just let it go! Let it go! Don’t waste your breath. Save your tears for somebody” in addition to the intricate guitar and drum lines provide listeners with an outlet for releasing uneasy feelings.
The track’s midsection also includes a very fitting guitar interlude that resembles those of older heavy metal bands during the late 1980’s and 1990’s. After the first two tracks, listeners will be pleased to know the continuous train of emotion and hard-hitting guitars remains in “My Mannequin Can Dance.”
The title, as soft and unique as it may sound, describes a song full of even harder riffs and power-driven lyrics. “Goody, Like Two Shoes” finally brings the elevated tone down a level with a softer piece of calm lyrics and even a violin playing a small melody in the background. The track, though, returns the band back to its heavy roots during a heavy finale.
The album’s single, “Monster’s” tends to stand unique in the album as it includes a very catchy introduction. The beginning of the track includes an interesting echo-effect that soon fades into a ballad of guitars and pumped lyrics shouting “We are! We are the shaken! We are the Monsters!”
The song also introduces the meaning behind the album’s title with the “We are the voices in your head!” The voice of Matchbook Romance’s singer can definitely be remembered long after the single is played. The song is a perfect dance melody changed into a hard rock ballad.
Following the single, though, the songs tend to express more of an emotional hard rock rather than the quick rock in previous songs. “Say It Like You Mean It” and “Portrait” are very quiet songs at first, but soon build to a level of maturity and expression of feelings.
The album’s final track, “I Wish You Were Here” is a calm and acoustic ending to a powerful album.
All in all, Voices, is a great example of hard-hitting pop-punk that is sure to please listeners alike. Although the band makes some softer changes from their debut, Voices is a quality album that new fans can listen to for emotion and a dose of potent music.
