Most tend to agree with Bob Marley: "One good thing about music is when it hits, you feel no pain." This is not the case with Voices, the latest musical endeavor by Matchbook Romance. Pain can be portrayed in a healing, empathetic way felt through the music of artists, such as Ben Harper. Pain can be portrayed in a "punch-a-hole-through-your-wall-and-start-screaming" sort of way as felt through the music of Rage Against the Machine. Unfortunately, Matchbox Romance only understands pain in an annoying, "makes-you-want-to-throw-your-iPod-against-the-wall-because-the-music-is-hurting-your-ears" kind of way.
Not only is Matchbook Romance's entire album clichéd, but each song sounds like a replica of the one preceding it. The electric guitar in the chorus on the first track of the album, "You Can Run, But We'll Find You" sounds like the background music from the movie "Psycho." Although the lead singer's voice gets more passionate as the song goes along, the lyrics are unmoving — other than coaxing listeners to move their finger to the "next track" button. The song has the potential to end in a crazy jam between the guitars and drums but instead just leaves you unmoved and unimpressed.
The fifth track on the album, "Monsters," doesn't get much better. At least the lead singer Andrew Jordan's voice is a bit more enjoyable, delightfully blending into the background music. It's possible that the lyrics tell some kind of story, but when it's impossible to hear any of them, listeners are left to speculate. Because of this, Jordan sounds more like he's whining than singing an inspirational anthem for the underrepresented. Lyrics like, "We are mistaken / We are the voices inside your head / Believe what you see," lack any substance and make me wonder who the "we" is. This song is also accompanied by corny clapping in the background that tries, and succeeds to some extent, in making up for the lack of musical sophistication from the rest of the instruments.
If you're still listening by the tenth track, your patience will pay off. "What A Sight" begins with a soft guitar rift that beautifully showcases the lyrics. Words like "When you wake / I'll be a thousand miles away / From the promises I've made and all of our love" have more substance than the lyrics of previous songs. After the first chorus, the drums join the music, giving this song just the boost it needs to keep the listener engaged. Mellower than the rest of the album, "What A Sight" is refreshing after songs like "Monster" and "Surrender", and has a Blink 182 kind of feel rather than the wannabe Marilyn Manson feel the rest of the album gives off.
"Fiction" is the only track on the album worth dancing to. It starts with a catchy beat, quick guitar licks and a strong drum presence. While the rest of the tracks don't motivate the listener to do anything, the beat of this song will have you at the least tapping your foot along with the song. "Fiction" sounds like punk and ends well, too. It's fitting that the drums are given a mini solo performance before the song abruptly ends.
Lacking musical and lyrical sophistication and originality Voices is just not worth buying. When it's all said and done, if you enjoy poppy, wannabe semi-hard slash emo, mediocre rock, the new Matchbook Romance might be for you. Otherwise, just don't bother.
Rated: 1 out of 5
