Full of life and infectious lyrics, The Matches' third album A Band in Hope has a sound like no other. From start to finish this album delivers an intriguing compilation of tracks and vast diversity in sound.
The Oakland, Calif. natives began in 1997 and, after scraping up enough money, released their first album E. Von Dahl Killed the Locals, which lead to a modest growth of the band's popularity along the West Coast. Their sophomore album, Decomposer, showcased a more experimental feel, which has definitely carried over to their latest release, which is the sister album to Decomposer.
Starting off strong, the album begins with two of the catchiest and hardest songs on the album, "AM tilts" and "Their City," immediately giving the listener a taste of their alternative rock/punk guitar riffs and pounding drums accompanied by the strong vocals of lead singer Shawn Harris.
Harris's unique voice brings something different to each track on this album. "Wake the Sun" is an uplifting song with Harris channeling the vibe of Modest Mouse lead singer Isaac Brock.
"Every dawn gets its day like/Every gown gets her way like/Every step that I lay down gets me where I'm from/To lay down, lay down, to lay my crumbs."
This album offers a little something for everybody as it moves from fun, rapid and memorable to the polar opposite: a darker, experimental-sounding song entitled "From 24C." Harris's scratchy and broken voice and a slow tempo resembles Bright Eyes' lead singer Conor Oberst.
Other songs worth mentioning are "Darkness Rising" (which sounds like an ode to Queen), "If I Were You," and the story-telling lyrics of "Yankee in a Chip Shop," all send the album into its finale "Proctor Rd."
A Band in Hope is interesting at the very least; it has a wide variety of musical styling, not to mention a vocalist with many different sounds that never leaves the listener bored. The Matches have undoubtedly brought something new to the table as they prepare to shoot to the top of the charts.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
