Getting gloomy and dark with Matchbook Romance - Voices

Hello and welcome to Rancid Reviews!

So if you read the last review I wrote, you’ll know that my initial intention had been to talk about the first and only studio release by the band, Rites Of Spring. But because I didn’t find it as enjoyable as I’d hoped, I instead chose to review a band and album that was close to them in style, but generally more my speed and temperament. Well, this week I shall be applying the same rule of listening to one album and reviewing another.

This week, I chose to listen to the album ‘Diary’ by the 90’s band, Sunny Day Real Estate, and since hearing it during my late teen year, many of the songs on the album are beginning to grow on me. I actually really liked ‘Diary’, and I certainly wouldn’t say no to reviewing it at a later date. But today, I will be focusing on a different band that does rather resemble them in style. Only this band will be mired in the dark, gloomy Punk and Alternative strains of the early 2000’s and unlike the slightly more upbeat Sunny Day Real Estate, will dash your hopes in the most grooviest ways possible. I am of course talking about Matchbook Romance.

Never heard of these guys? Well that’s okay. You wouldn’t be the first. Matchbook Romance was a second wave Emo band that formed during the year 1997 and would eventually sign with Epitaph Records. During the early 2000’s the band released one Ep and two full length studio albums. Their first album ‘Stories And Alibis’ was very stripped down, rough around the edges, and highly indicative of the Indie underground scene of the 90’s, initially enforced and brought about by bands like Sunny Day Real Estate, but also The Get Up Kids, and to a lesser extent, Weezer. The style used on ‘Stories and Alibis’ is honestly something I could take or leave at this point. Even though songs such as ‘Your Stories, My Alibis’, ‘Lovers and Liars’ and ‘My Eyes Burn’ do stand out as decent favorites from the album. Matchbook Romance’s second album ‘Voices’ on the other hand is a different story. ‘Voices’ makes a bit of a departure from the band’s initial sound and drives itself into a darker side road. With the instruments toned down a notch or two and the vocals of the lead singer going deeper and more smooth, we get a track list that’s gloomy and depressive, yet propelled forwards with very groovy melodies and catchy choruses. Even if you aren’t initially a fan of this kind of music, there’s a crawling rhythm to most songs on this album that will have you banging your head or tapping your foot along.

I think even though Matchbook Romance isn’t one of the best remembered or impactful names of this music scene, and even though they are once again on a permanent hiatus, the short growth and play around of this group is worth perusing. While having released a couple of successful studio records, perhaps they were never able to reach for a more masterful level of musicianship that other groups have. But by exploring their work, predominantly their latest album, we might get to see the footnotes and foundations of something even stronger than what it currently is. So, with that, let’s get into the album ‘Voices’ properly.

As mentioned earlier, ‘Voices’ tends to go for a much darker, gloomy sector of the Emo genre, influenced and upheld by laces of Indie Rock, Pop-Punk, Post-Hardcore and even a bit of Progressive experimentation. It’s a bit like a bubbling surface, in which there are different levels of energy throughout most tracks. All of these songs can be either foreboding and angsty, or somber and melancholic, yet highly amenable to a wide audience, due to its lack of overtly heavy sections, breakdowns or screamed vocals. It relies more on the mixed, clean singing and basic Rock band instruments, with occasional samplings of piano and strings. Much like other Post-Hardcore and Pop-Punk groups of this time, Matchbook Romance makes prominent use of Classical Music influences within this album, namely through such said samplings, and an occasional somber 3/3 pacing.

Whether working with a waltz beat or typical 4/4, many of the songs range in tempo on this release, and depending on how low the tone is on a certain song, the pacing really adds to the saturated sadness, and sometimes even overtakes other components, standing center stage solely for its own drive. Songs like ‘You Can Run, But We’ll Find You’, and ‘Goody Like Two Shoes’ might respectively make use of harsh riffs and pedals, but also have frequent compositional elements that are far more quiet, and focus more on the low, slowed down beat. ‘Say It Like You Mean It’ would also be a good example of this kind of song writing, yet it pushes it’s swells and pitter-patters towards a more positive area that doesn’t have the same dark, miserable taste as other tracks do. 

Most songs on ‘Voices’ do range more towards the dreary side of the emotional spectrum, with or without the input of the edgy lyrics. Although some are the occasional exception to this rule. ‘Surrender’, ‘Monsters’ and ‘Fiction’ while still being rather negative, carry themselves with more of a racing, statement filled purpose. They’re highly catchy with their singalong choruses and instrumentals, punchy with their fast pace and emotional tones, and even at times a little argumentative, whether that be just down to the music itself or because of the outspoken nature of the lyrics. Other songs like ‘My Mannequin Can Dance’, ‘Portrait’ and ‘Singing Bridges (We All Fall)’ don’t quite have the same impact, as they generally run along more with an atypical, stream like tone, rather than being as punchy and statement like. Despite this, they do still possess the same catchy nature through it’s choruses, and most certainly within the guitar riffs and solo bridges.

Catchy or not, every song on this album is wonderfully gloomy and miserable in a conventional way, although as mentioned earlier ‘Say It Like You Mean It’ as well as songs, ‘What A Sight’ and ‘I Wish You Were Here’ keep the low misery, but express it through Major Chords and more gentle, soft moments. These together make for three songs that have a neutral, clarity based angle of perspective that really sets them apart from the others. The darker songs on the album also have a tendency of sounding strained, anguished and even a little twisted, this being something that doesn’t exist with the three lighter songs, that tend to be more straightforward, relaxed and even a bit more friendly. They really help in giving this fantastically grueling album a bit more substance and variety, presenting the sense of multiple ways of expressing problems and finding solutions to them, rather than just always being doom and gloom or angsty diary entries.

And I think that’s the thing about this whole album that’s genuinely really interesting. It knows exactly what it’s going for and it's going to do exactly that. But at the same time it recognizes that there’s room for other ways of seeing things and moving forward. And that actually says a lot about Matchbook Romance themselves. Their ability to adapt and change their performance style from one album to another, as well as being able to acknowledge and meld multiple versions of conveyance together, is in itself rather exceptional, even if not everyone sees that at first. So why did they stop when they did? Well, I guess it could be a mix of reasons. Despite their ability to adapt, maybe they couldn’t see a future for themselves in a world where their specific genre was beginning to be viewed as a fad by mainstream media and music fans. Maybe they just weren’t able to stand out among other bands who could make more of an impact. Maybe it was just never in the band member’s plans to be in Matchbook Romance forever. I honestly don’t know. 

I do however know this. Matchbook Romance for me is a band that makes itself known in obscure but wonderful ways. It will never be the most popular out there and for some people it might not have the same staying power as others. But that’s okay. Because it can’t be denied that this band existed, nor can it be denied that their music is enjoyable, or that if they’d continued a little while longer, they probably would’ve become a very strong and masterful band. ‘Voices’ is the perfect example of this group's long hidden talent for growth and adaptability. Even if it doesn’t mean very much to you, even if it sounds a little depressing, it can be a very fun little album for anyone who wants to give it a try. And for me, it also stands as a firm favorite reminder of a band who nowadays is long gone.

So, for making sweeping motions in their career but quitting while they were ahead, I’m going to give Matchbook Romance a 6/10. As for the album ‘Voices’ as a personal favorite for me and displaying a sound that I really enjoy, I’m going to give it a 7.5/10. 

I’m hoping this review will inspire others to give Matchbook Romance a try, or at the very least look into other slightly more obscure groups. I think there’s talent, creativity and impact in many bands, well known or not, but give the lesser known groups a fair try too. They might surprise you. And with that all being said and done, I’ll see you next week.