Matchbook Romance
Voices

THE REVIEW

I have never been a big fan of the "emo" genre, assuming there is only one emo genre, since under this convenient label many bands, often clones of each other, have been grouped together over the past years.

When emocore was still a genre with defined boundaries, an album by an American band, Matchbook Romance, was released that generated a lot of interest among critics at the time. The band had strong teenage pop-punk roots, but they knew how to build on them to create a debut that was exceptional. Today times have changed (perhaps for the worse), and in 2006 our friends released their second album, "Voices", and once again it's surprising, astonishing, and a change of direction. Forget everything I've said so far about pop punk, etc.: here there is only excellent rock, no longer for fourteen-year-olds, still marked by the usual eyeliner under the eyes but this time much less evident, to the point that one might almost say that the band has leaned more towards indie rock. Of course, like the definition "emo," this too is a bit too all-encompassing, but I believe it is a genre that now explains itself.

For those who have known Matchbook from the beginning, they'll be amazed when listening to the opener "You Can Run But We'll Find You". The guitars have suddenly become heavier and more layered, now outlining much more complex and not at all immediate soundscapes. The voice is intense and suffering, angry and sinuous, but far from the typical yelps of the genre (or ex-genre at this point) of this band. The track is a real punch, labyrinthine enough and urgent at the right moment, with its furious and turbulent finale that turns into a calm piano tail.

The following "Surrender" even recalls Muse, for that guitar arpeggio so delicate that gradually rises in intensity and anger, and in the transitions between chorus and verse, it really feels like hearing, in small flashes, the English band. Certainly worth noting is the break halfway through the song, really incisive and compelling. Sure, they are just moments in an entire album, but they help us understand the path taken by the band, now mature and far from the over-trodden emo territories.

The start of the album is electrifying, third song and third beautiful track, "My Mannequin Can Dance". Strongly indebted to the sound of the previous one in terms of melody (perhaps more pressing), in this, the guitars are even more layered and full, with an obvious nod to Muse, but without copying them at all. The next "Goody Like Two Shoes" seems to channel a melancholic ballad, with its remarkable instrumental sections accompanied by strings, but it's only a facade since soon the song bursts into an angry chorus (always in clean voice, be careful, never an emo punk scream to be understood), which through an intense rollercoaster with numerous rhythm changes leads us to the convulsive end of this fourth track.

Then we come to what I consider perhaps the best piece of the album, "Monsters". The sounds change again, an intro with parodic and almost ironic tones leads us to the true heart of the song, a truly undefinable track, strongly rhythmic and surrounded by the sublime work of the guitars (here enveloping like never before) and especially the voice, which in the previous track and in this one reaches noteworthy peaks of intensity. Truly a beautiful piece, engaging and full of sensations.

Obviously not all doughnuts come out with a hole, and even this album has its flaws. The five splendid initial songs are contrasted by other rather lukewarm pieces that can easily be skipped. Although slightly lower in quality than the initial quintet, "Portrait" (with a "Muse-like" structure already seen previously) and "Singing Bridges" (the latter already with more melancholic shades) push hard.

In conclusion, I consider this a truly remarkable album worth listening to, especially in the seven tracks I mentioned. It's a very intense and heartfelt product, capable of laying out desperate resignation, melancholic anger, and painful rejection. Far from the emo clichés, the album will surely be appreciated by all those who have the patience to savor and understand it in all its facets.