For any of you who are yet to discover The Matches, they are what I can only describe as a great band with great talent. They have a vibrant energy which, without meaning to sound like a bore, many bands lack today. Each lyric is well produced and not without meaning, they are easy to follow and in turn, listen to. Every chord is played with the same precision and ferocity as the last pumping the drum line through the song fitting perfectly with every sound.
On stage they make sure you get what you paid for, they embody their sounds, making the music come alive. At any show they can be seen tearing up the stage with the madness of a raging bull, swapping microphones, and passing off guitars to the techs to be with the crowd. The Matches are a band to be admired, ensuring they play the music they love, rather than selling out, a magical element, creating a show rather than a gig for their fan’s to watch.

People didn’t believe they could create something better than 2006’s decomposer. Let me tell you there’s no room for dissapointment, their new album, A Band In Hope pushes the Matches further from the scene that spawned them. E. Von Dahl Killed the Locals, their first album was pretty pop-punk based, Decomposer was full of unique rhythms and what can only be described as randomness. Production credits from John Feldman (Story Of The Year) and Mike Green (Paramore) attempt to bring them back to their roots, lacing the album with ’80’s funk punk’ . You may notice some influences from their past CD’s, but this is nothing like you’ve heard from them before.
A Band In Hope looks like it could be the final piece for the bands jigsaw move to the mainstream. The band has their own unique style, allowing then to progress through the music industry sharing stages with the likes of Reel Big Fish, Motion City Soundtrack and Yellowcard. The album sound is a little rough round the edges which will appeal to some but it has a huge pop influence which should do extremely well in mainstream. If you are unfamiliar with The Matches I would be willing to bet that may change after the release of their first few songs.
If it’s another catchy album you’re after, you wont get it. But, there is something about this which captivates the audience. The slow, medium and fast paced songs fit perfectly on the disc, it’s an album with so many colours you just can’t get bored of it. I’m not sayikng you’ll fall in love with it straight away by any means, it took me a good few listens to get to grips with, with it’s slightly heavier feel but as always I wasn’t dissapointed and have once again found the musical genius that is The Matches.
Check out the new songs at www.myspace.com/thematches