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Rating: 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.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Surrender (04:47)
and these are my sins
these are my regrets
i want to trade them in for some truth
just let it go, let it go
don't waste your breath
save your tears for somebody who believes
i can't help myself, let alone you
i give up
and these are my dreams
these are my beliefs
i wanna' trade them in for something real
just let it go, let it go
don't waste your breath
save your tears for somebody who believes
i can't help myself, let alone you
i'm tired of making love to a memory
i give up
03 My Mannequin Can Dance (03:55)
We're all eyes and in my personal opinion
if we're not all you were hoping for
when you say my name say it like a curse
i saw your face in the magazine saying i can't hear it
all the girls all glittered and glossed
screaming we can feel you, can you feel me?
we'll die if we're not in a corpse of conscience
lie these lies live a life
but don't lie to me
you're just chasing shadows
show us some heart and confess your sins
we'll sing with arms closed
and you can tear us apart cuz you won't break the skin
just put on your face and...
i would love nothing more in the world
than to watch you as you spill your guts.
unrehearsed you're just a silhouette
you never had a voice so why all the fuss?
you can have the kingdom, you can have the crown,
but you won't have the people.
no, or else you drown.
you're just chasing shadows
show us some heart and confess your sins
we'll sing with arms closed
you can tear us apart cuz you wont break the skin
put on your face, put on your face and scream
you're just chasing shadows
show us some heart and confess your sins
we'll sing with arms closed
you can tear us apart cuz you wont break the skin
just put on your face, just put on your face
and scream, and scream, and scream for me
05 Monsters (04:03)
girl, what's come between you and me?
look right through me
i'll let it go
i can't help this feeling anymore
i won't go anywhere
maybe you'll see me
we are
we are the shaken
we are the monsters
underneath your bed
yeah
believe what you read
we are
we are mistaken
we are the voices
inside your head
yeah
believe what you see
it came as no surprise
you bring me back to life
believe me
you bleed for me
i'll bleed for you
i caught you walking through walls
drowned with applause
from the world that makes me crazy
we are
we are the shaken
we are the monsters
underneath your bed
yeah
believe what you read
we are
we are mistaken
we are the voices
inside your head
yeah
believe what you see
we are the monsters
we are the monsters
we are the monsters
underneath your bed
we are the voices
we are the voices
we are the voices
underneath your bed
we are the monsters
we are the monsters
we are the monsters
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
we are
we are the shaken
we are the monsters
underneath your bed
yeah
believe what you read
we are
we are mistaken
we are the voices
inside your head
yeah
believe what you see
we are
we are the shaken
we are the monsters
underneath your bed
yeah
believe what you see
06 Say It Like You Mean It (04:21)
We're too afraid to close our eyes
Afraid that we might drift and lose track of the time
The brilliant lie blanks my blind
Sends ghosts back to their graves and us back to life
I'm sorry, I'm sorry
Over and over [x2]
(just say it like you mean it)
[x2]
The best is when you say the worst is over
It's like saying we had luck with a three leaf clover
And you kept saying that over and over
And I still catch you looking over your shoulder
And it's okay, I know the only times you really loved me
Were the times when you weren't sober
And that hurts
We all hurt
We all hurt
And I kept saying that
Over and over [x2]
(just say it like you mean it)
[x2]
For the taste
For the sight
For the sound
For the fight
For the weak
For the strong
For the light
Say it like
You say it like you mean it
For the wait
For the crush
For the fear
For the lush
For the love
For the hate
For the touch
Just say it like
I will wait out for you [x3]
I will wait out
Over and over [x2]
Just say it like you mean it
[x2]
Just say it like you mean it
[x8]
07 Portrait (04:25)
Love, bring me the head of jealousy
This curse is the poison on her lips
A love as certain as a sinking ship
Unstoppable
This isn't a dream
This is what you are
And I'll take the blame
But that won't heal your scars
Look
Look a little closer now
Shot off
You should have known this wasn't a truce
Did your cheapshot
Turn black and blue
You should have known better
Than to change your mind
Tears won't tame your misery
They're the ones that say
Your heart is just a beat
You're just keeping time
This isn't a game
Who do you think you are
I'll take the blame
But that won't heal your scars
Look
Look a little closer now
Shot off
You should have know this wasn't a truce
Did your cheapshot
Turn black and blue
Look
Look a little closer now
Shot off
You should have know this wasn't a truce
Did your cheapshot
Look
Look a little closer now
Shot off
You should have know this wasn't a truce
Did your cheapshot
Turn black and blue
09 Fiction (03:25)
You found revenge in the bed
And it only cost a name
You make me sick, sick to my stomach
Sick, sick, to my stomach
You keep me in suspense
But you're just shooting blanks
All I hear is bang bang
All we hear is bang bang
And no, you'll never have to see
You'll never have to see me
Never have to deal with me again
If that's what you want
And that's what you get
And no, you'll never have to see
Never have to see me
Never have to deal with me again
You'll never have to deal with me again
Keep me in suspense
And tell me what it meant
The end you set between you and me
Look me in the eyes
And tell me what it meant
Just before we both go
I never looked back
Cross my heart and hope to die
I did it for love, love
I did it for the cry, love love
I wanna overdose on her kiss
Leaving me like this
Will you be my drug, drug?
Yeah, be my drug, drug
And no, you'll never have to see
You'll never have to see me
Never have to deal with me again
If that's what you want
And that's what you get
And no, you'll never have to see
You'll never have to see me
Never have to deal with me again
You'll never have to deal with me again
Keep me in suspense
And tell me what it meant
The end you set between you and me
Look me in the eyes and tell me what it meant
Just before we both went numb
Keep me in suspense
And tell me what it meant
The end you set between you and me
Look me in the eyes and tell me what it meant
Just before we both go numb
Keep me in suspense
Keep me in suspense
Just before we both go numb
10 What a Sight (04:27)
what a sight
never thought i'd find you here
last i knew you disappeared
we all get lost
i thought i
had lost you amongst the mess
in the cluttered things in my head
but here you are
when you wake
i'll be a thousand miles away
from the promises i made
and all i love
i'm a dreamer
with nothing left to dream
trying to tear a hole in the seam
of reality
don't ever forget me [x2]
i thought i lost you
thought i lost you
i thought i lost you
thought i lost you amongst the mess
and the demons in my head
but here you are
i would leave
to return more lost than before
a little more tired a little less sure
of where i was
the earth would move but
we would stand in place
hide in the shadows of the dead
we're almost out of time
yeah we're almost out of time
don't ever forget me [x2]
i thought i lost you
thought i lost you
i thought i lost you
[x2]
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