|
Like Tony Sinclair urges, always in moderation.
You would think an album that boasts nine different producers would
sound like sonic mess, if not an aural hurricane, but somehow the
Matches make it work. What is most surprising is the fact that none of
the nine producers belong to any of the current crop of Fueled by
Ramen/Pete Wentz signings. Instead, producers like Rancid's Tim
Armstrong, blink-182's Mark Hoppus, 311's Nick Hexum, and Bad
Religion/Epitaph founder Brett Gurewitz offered to produce and even
play on a few songs. Not bad for a band that didn't have a deal in
place when recording.
The album opens with the track "Salty Eyes," a waltzy tune that
incorporates strings, organs, timpanis, and (gasp!) a vibraphone.
Hardly your typical instruments in emo-pop-punk music, but I can't help
but want to listen to this song on more than one occasion. But just
when you think that this album might actually sound different than the
rest of the pop-punk-emo bands out there, you hear the rest of the
album and you're quickly reminded that it wasn't meant to be. While
some of the songs are quite catchy and very radio friendly ("Papercut
Skin," "Clumsy Heart," and "What Katie Said"), they're still relatively
the same old pop-punk songs you've heard by now. "Shoot Me in the
Smile" sounds as if bits of it was plucked right from the Snakes on a Plane theme song, while "You (Don't) Know Me" sounds like a Transplants' cast off. Guess which producer was involved with this one?
By the second half of the album, you'll want to dye your hair black,
wear overly trendy black clothes, style your hair in a manner befitting
the Flock of Seagulls "I Ran" video, and lament about life on your
LiveJournal/MySpace blogs. Overall it's not a bad album, but like Tony
Sinclair urges, always in moderation.
RIYL: Panic! at the Disco, The Academy Is, Motion City Soundtrack
|
play by play (music) 
