Customer Reviews

A Band in Hope

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This CD is a bit different than what I expected; I had only listened to the first two tracks before deciding to just buy the whole thing, and guess what? The rest of the CD varies quite a bit from the first two tracks. Not that it's bad, it's just a different sound. For example, "Darkness Rising", "Clouds Crash", and "Proctor Rd" are much more subdued than the other tracks--they're a little slower, softer, and less in your face--and I feel that they're missing something. My favorites are "AM Tilts", "Their City", "Wake the Sun", and "Yankee in a Chip Shop". If you're a diehard fan of this band, then you'll want to add this to your collection, but if you're just looking for some good tunes, listen to some previews first and download the ones that suit your taste individually.

don't get me wrong, I really enjoy this album, but there's one flaw that just tends to bug me sometimes.

With Decomposer, The Matches showed that radical creativity is just a natural thing for them; they're naturally weird and different. And that's what attracted me to them.

The thing with this album is, often times it seems like The Matches are trying harder and harder to be weird and different, instead of just letting the radical creativity come to them.
Alot of songs on this album reach near-operatic status, but none of this are really bad things, in fact I like it sometimes.

My has this band come a long way in such a short time. I remember seeing them as "The Locals" at a local venue iMusicast just a few years ago, playing mostly pop/punk/ska. Now here they are as, in my opinion, one of the most innovative modern "pop/punk" (for lack of a better word) group. Their real genre is not pop/punk or alternative or what they typically have been classified. This album shows a true artistic, experimental, psychedelic side that Shawn Harris himself best coined it as "Schizophrenic."

I hear a lot of moaning and groaning from the "E von dahl.." fans, but the fact is, if you are musically educated, you would know this blows their debut album out of the water. You may hear that Yankee in a Chip Shop, or Point Me Toward the Morning are the highlight tracks. But the REAL gems on this CD are From 24C, Proctor Rd, and Darkness Rising, the ones that have been typically classified as "not listener friendly." I really hope that the Matches don't listen to the close-minded, not-so-musically educated critics and lose this creativity that they are showing in this album. Other highlights that branch out and yet are closer to their old style are AM Tilts, Future Tense, and Between Halloweens.

So as this CD may at first sound too different, or too out there, give it a few tries and apprectiate the originality of the music and the near-genius lyrics. This is one of my favorite albums of all time.

Just check out the title "A Band in Hope". Is it really? Or maybe Abandon Hope? Think about it, this band will make you think.

After the first two CD's which completely blew me away this was a serious disappointment as the first two were my favorite and second favorite CD's of all time. The tracks are all fairly similar in nature, soft with clever lyrics. the problem is that they alter the songs so much with current technology and slow songs are generally all about voice. If you liked the first two matches CD's it is unlikely you will like this one, but if you like slow songs and are looking for an unusual spin on it then this CD may be for you.

*

There are various types of songs on this album.

Most noticable, there are songs that sound like they could be from the 70's era: There are some ballads (or wanna-be ballads at least; "Darkness Rising") and there are some fist-pumping/chanting numbers ("This City", "We Are One"). There is even "Between Halloweens", which I think, mixes Queen inflence and modern rock quite well. You can tell Queen was a big influence on at least a handful of the songs on here.

And I'm no expert on classic rock, but I would say a couple songs have some Guns 'N Roses influence on them, based on some of the lead guitar licks. ("Point Me Towards the Morning", "Between Halloweens")

And then, there are some poppy pop-rock songs ("AM Tilts", "Wake the Sun", "To Build a Mountain", etc.) These songs are ones I think most of the general public would like.

And, as I mentioned in the title, The Matches get more experimental...at least in "24C" & "Proctor Rd." Now before I had written that "24C" "barely [has] a melody," but I have since changed my mind. It is one of those songs that grows on you. I knew it actually had parts to it I liked, so I downloaded it and from there it grew on me. So I apologize for previously insulting the Matches on that one. But I still stand on saying "Proctor Rd." is just pure filler. It builds up and then just stops. What were they thinking?

All-in-all, this album is at best, just a "good album". I was trying to think of why this is, exactly, and then it hit me. It's as if they went "Let's make a Queen song. Ok, now let's make a really weird experimental song. Ok, now let's make a pop rock song from that could be from the 70s," and so on.

So in one way, it's cool what the Matches did. They expanded the type of music they play; but on the other hand, perhaps they didn't show enough originality here. I don't know, I still haven't decided.

Songs I (initially) liked enough to download from A Band In Hope:
We Are One
Point Me Toward the Morning
From 24C
Between Halloweens
If I Were You
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*NOTE: I do not own the whole album, but I have previewed most of the album (tracks 5-14) when they had it on myspace. I wasn't about to buy this album when I only like 6 songs off it.

A superbly done CD. There are only maybe one or two songs that are less than perfect. This is a must have for catchy songs that are very intelligently done. BUY THIS CD!

It's a mashup of a record, I'll be the first to admit, but it works and plays to it's theme of hope and abandonment. The only song that attacks and latches to you, like Salty Eyes and Papercut Skin did on Decomposer, is Yankee In A Chip Shop, which makes me want to get on tredmill and run run run all 10 blocks.

What you get with this album are a bunch of tracks similar to Didi My Doe p2 from Decomposer, songs that might not stick out the best when you go through the ablum the first time, but stand on their own through out time and listens, more than I can say of some songs on their previous albums.

Stand Out Tracks: AM Tilts, Wake The Sun, Point Me Towards The Morning, Yankee In A Chip Shop

...well to me anyway, so maybe I'm not the right person to do a review. I love The Matches and couldn't wait for this album to come out, and when they put the entire thing on their myspace page I was thrilled. They are the BEST! and this album proves it.

first album- rocked- love it cant find a bad song
second album- waaay diferent- liked only 2-3 songs
now- my ears bleed when i listen to this- i miss the fire from the first album, a band in hope is right.... another album like this and it may be their last- or at least the last one i get