Customer Reviews

Voices

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

personally, i like when bands evolve musically. many bands have taken their music careers to the next level by doing so instead of just making hits or milking out their initial sound. some examples of bands evolving would be bands like thrice, saves the day, midtown, radio head, blink 182, finch (for the worse though), brand new, and not to mention the ballsy move by story of the year and their new album.
i was a huge fan of their debut album "stories and alibies" and that cd was in heavy rotation for me since it came out in sept.03 up until this new release. it also helped me with issues in my life and was definitely an impact on me. the past six months i have been putting so much hype on this new record and i knew it was going to be different but not this different. there is hardly any comparison from this album to their debut. even his voice has changed along with their style. no more fast, upbeat gritty guitars. this time around, their songs are more darker, more drawn out, (some say boring) and not as catchy. even though i love their first cd, you have to respect what they did with "voices". you can't expect them to write an album like their previous. they would be cheating themselves as musicians. matchbook romance's transition between albums reminds me of the one that brand new did from "your fav. weapon" to "deja entendu". i praise that development because deja entendu is, without a doubt, the best record i've heard in my 22yrs. and i hated deja entendu when i first heard it but you have to listen open-mindedly then your ears start hearing different things. i think "voices" will have the same effect. i'm not too crazy about it right now but i think over time and various listens i will come to appreciate it. my props go out to MBR for making a ballsy move and expermenting with this album. it's not a perfect album but still a very good one. for those who are reading this and haven't listened to the new material, definitely download or borrow it from a friend first. this is not emo. this is not punk. it's just a dark, experimental, rock record with no comparison to their first.
WORD OF ADVICE: when it comes to listening to two different albums from a band, try not to compare them (i know it's hard). just act like you're hearing this band for the first time again. it will make you more open-minded and appreciate the album for what it is instead of picking it apart because of how their other album sounded. that's the only way to appreciate music...

At the start of 2006, the hype was on. "This is the new noise," banner ads promised, and comparisons to Gatsby's American Dream and Muse alike began dropping. The new Matchbook Romance will make you forget what you know about the band, removing them from their rather straight-arrowed pop punk track-record. As soon as "Voices" kicks off, you are immediately prevented from recalling this band did "My Eyes Burn" or "The Greatest Fall."

So is it a worthy re-invention? Absolutely. Satisfying hooks and melodies sway the listener instantly, with dark, brooding melodies on "You Can Run, But We'll Find You"--singer Andrew Jordan couldn't sound any more strikingly different from his "Playing For Keeps" days. And as he croons, "I give up..." in "Surrender," the song's pulsating energy reveals a striking reinvention of the entire band, as well--blazing guitars, hooks, and wonderful vocal memories immediately and consistently erase any previous notions that this band is whiny, or typical.

As the album progresses, there's really not a dull moment on the wild ride. Comparisons to Muse, Gatsby's American Dream, and Armor For Sleep alike all are dead on as abstract rhythms, blasting electrics, and swirling melodies put their fanbase into a likely trance. Key moments? Probably the hand-clapped debut single, "Monsters," with its catchy but renewing style and sound or the fiery "Fiction," with it's wall of chorus that sounds more like Muse than anything else. Driving guitars sound sensational, and at their most powerful moments Matchbook Romance are blasting away their established ties with the "pop-punk" filing in CD stores.

That's not to say the album couldn't be better--their whiny roots shine through clearer than day on the dry "Say It Like You Mean It," of which misguided attempts to put off a romantic ballad backfire. And when "What A Sight" comes on, once again you're reminded that, yes, Matchbook Romance wrote "My Eyes Burn."

It's easy to file this album away as the genuine reinvention of a band going stale, but more difficult to expose a band who might be trying too hard. At it's strongest moments, one will love this album--but at it's weakest, one will despise it. Thankfully, the latter is the more sparse of the two, and one can't help but congratulate Matchbook Romance on their growth and refreshing exploration of a new style.

I am not usually one to write reviews but after listening to this CD, I had to. I had never heard of Matchbook Romance before last week but now I can't stop listening to this CD. It is incredible. Every song conveys something different and you won't be bored. My favorite track is 4. It will take you up and down in every sense. This is one of my favorites this year... so far...

First of all I'd like to direct a comment to a couple reviewers below me. Specifically the people calling it trash because it doesnt sound like their old album. Though I love the genre and most of the music in it, the emo/screamo/punk thing is getting very saturated. A lot of bands sound similar, and thats ok. Matchbook Romance decided that they wanted to set themselves apart and do something else. If this was just another Stories and Alibis do you think you may have gotten bored with the sound? Also to those people, I have nothing wrong with you saying you dont like the album, but at least give a reason.
Anyways, on to my personal opinion. I think that this album is very good. Its not amazing, its not life changing, its not the album of the year, but its very good. Bands that try to break away from their genre often dont succeed in my opinion (Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Avenged Sevenfold, etc), yet their are some who do. More than anything else, this album is diverse. Songs like I Wish You Were Here and Goody, Like Two Shoes, show a soft side of Matchbook Romance, but then their are upbeat tracks like Monsters and Fiction. However, my favorite moments of the cd come when they mix the two and bring creative transitions and varied songs like, Say It Like You Mean It and My Mannequin Can Dance. Overall I think the experimenting came out well and I enjoy the new Matchbook Romance just as much as I enjoyed the old. As I listen to it more I believe I will enjoy it even more. These are the songs that never get old. Preview the album before buying it, but dont let change scare you away.

I liked Stories and Alibi's but I wasn't a huge fan. I didn't like the nasaly vocals and aside from a few songs the rest of the album all sounded the same. For a cliche emo CD it was pretty good though. Emo pop/rock isn't as bad as it's cracked up to be. Any form of mainstream music has a lot of musical merit because it does one thing that music critics rip it for: It's so appealing that it gains mass appeal. In turn though, as with anything that becomes a huge trend, emo will devour itself through replication and the mainstream will turn against it for being "too popular." After all "cool" is a sense that you're unique in some way. When it's everywhere, and everyone is listening to it....it becomes uncool.

If this band did not re-invent it's style it would basically run the risk of (as someone else above noted) jumping on a ship that is sinking in uncool waters. It's not that emo is bad, it's that every trend comes to an end. That's just the way pop culture works. In one way you can think of emo as this generations 80's hair metal. Both are poppy, both were very MTV inspired mainstream, both inspired fashions, and eventually both will be looked back on as a fond trend. Only really great artists that can adapt stick around for years. But cheer up emo kids, bands like Matchbook Romance that re-invent themselves will at least survive the crash when it does come (how long is still up in the air).

Anyway...here's my review. This CD is a big improvement musically over there other CD. The one thing that was shocking to me was that the lead singer actually has a great rock voice. He's not just some nasaly whiney kid with a guitar. The band also experiments with a lot of big sound, which is missing from most rock today. This is a rock band now, and hopefully in the future they will continue to grow even further away from pop.

The downside to this CD is that like the last CD a lot of the tracks sound the same. On the last CD a lot of the songs had the same emo-ish tempo and you could insert any of their songs lyrics over any guitar track and you'd never know the difference. This CD falls into the same type of problem. Except it's not the emo sound that's repetitous. It's the long poweful power vocals (which sound excellent) that get a bit repetitous. But overall there is a lot more diversity than the last CD so they're moving in the right direction.

I'd give it 4 stars total as an enjoyable rock CD, but I'll give them the fifth star for having the guts to take the musical risk and I hope it pays off for them.

Best Tracks (All 10's in my opinion): Monsters, Surrender, My Mannequin Can Dance, You Can Run, Say it like you mean it

This light years beyond Stories and Alibis and I'm glad they didn't make a sequel. I think people forget this when it comes to music because albums aren't suppose to be the same with each release. Matchbook Romance are trying to distance themselves from the greatly growing emo scene that is mushrooming to a state where it's becoming overbearing and cliché and all the bands are starting to sound alike. Spitalfield changed it up, Boys Night Out did a concept album, Finch went hardcore and it all just makes for a more varied music scene and not having a few albums from a band where every album feels like it should have been released the same day even though years separate them. If you ever need proof that people don't know what they are talking about when it comes to a band changing their style at the height of their popularity at the time then look at the case of Weezer's Pinkerton. It flopped on initial release and now look at it. It's considered Weezer's best album and most popular among their fans. Give Voices a shot, listen to it all the way through a few times and let it grow on you. The artwork alone in the album is an obvious sign of their change as well the singing in my opinion. In Stories, I was put off slightly by the emo vocal styles and screaming, it just didn't always fit and it sounded strained. Now, the vocals sound more natural and Matchbook stay aggressive without having to scream in the background. There may not be any radio friendly singles like there was on Stories and Alibis but that doesn't mean that there isn't any well written songs, in fact the songs on Voices are even more well written and draw on Muse like riffing and time structures which make for some exciting dynamics. When listening to Voices, keep an open mind and just don't even think of Stories and Alibis and look at this record as a totally new band and you will appreciate it a lot more once you realize who you are listening to.

Many of the more negative reviews below are perfect examples of what can happen when a band's first record is an immature, undeveloped release; that sort of first record gathers similarly immature fans with undeveloped ears who can't appreciate the subtleties and nuances of their second, more complex effort.

There's no question, Voices is a huge departure from MBR's first record, Stories and Alibies. That record was full of youthful energy, but was in many ways too similar to other bands in the genre. While I enjoyed that record for what it was, I hoped (and indeed expected) that MBR would distinguish themselves in the genre, and add more internal variety, on Voices.

I wasn't disappointed. Every song from Stories and Alibies would sound out of place on Voices, and vice versa, and they've truly set themselves apart from the uninspired drivel of the Hawthorne Heights crowd. There's a real moodiness on this record that rises above -- or, perhaps more appropriately, sinks beneath -- teenage whining and embraces darker influences.

To call the slower ballads on this record "boring" is to admit your age and experience, or lack thereof. If nothing else, the plain fact of how amazing it is that the same vocalist who recorded Stories and Alibis is capable of this kind of vocal control should keep you interested. Because believe me, it takes ten times as much skill to sing something like "Say it like you mean it" or "Goody, like two shoes" than any constantly upbeat, high volume, ear-assaulting track from Stories and Alibis. Also, the controlled, minimalist energies of the build-ups in those two songs make the eventual payoff that much more gratifying.

If you were turned off by Stories and Alibis, by all means give MBR's Voices another chance. And if you loved their first effort, bring your (hopefully more developed) ears. If you can't do that, shelve this record until you graduate high school.

I've been a huge Matchbook Romance fan ever since West For Wishing came out, so one can imagine the surprised I received upon listening to Voices for the first time. I have to agree with the majority of the people out there... yes Voices is a far cry from previous Matchbook releases, espicially the great "Stories and Alabies."

Every song is no longer about love, make no mistake about it, this is a dark album about the darkness that lies inside everyone. My favorite Matchbook songs are "My Eyes Burn", "Promise" and "Hollywood and Vine" and I can honestly say there is not a single track on Voices that sounds anything like those. That does not mean, however, that this is not an exellent album.

Bands need to mature, they need to grow. There are only so many times that I song can say "I miss you" before the music begins to lose its worth. The poppy guitar riffs have also been scrapped, taken over by heavier chords to match the darker lyrics being used. Most songs are no longer just three minutes long, now instrumentals have been added to just about every track to draw out the expierence each song is trying to portray. This is similar growth Green Day made to American Idiot... no I am not saying Matchbook is the next Green Day (or even in their league), only that the maturity to their latest releases take similar, risky steps.

Here are individual track listings and ratings, 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest.

1. You Can Run, But We'll Find You (5 - 10): Worst track on the CD. Dark and heavy, however extremly monotone, lacking of both a catchy chorus and sustained hooks. Nice start to the CD in a sense that it holds nothing back, showing the listener exactly what to expect, but the overall song is consistantly lacking, espicially for an opening track... only song constantly skipped on my rotation.

2. Surrender (9 - 10): Now the cd gets going! The opening lyrics of "These are my sins... these are my regrets" is excellent. Great building guitars leading into the chorus, which itself is very catchy. Some excellent lyrics as well, espicially "I'm tired of making love to a memory", amazing!

3. My Mannequin Can Dance (8.5 - 10): Opening guitar is excellent, as well as the drumming into the intro. Song slows down following the heavy opening, only to slowly rise as the chorus nears. Monotone addition to the chorus of "confess your sins" is great. Instruments are unbelievable on this track, but the lyrics are lacking, thus why not a 9 or higher.

4. Goodie, Like Two Shoes (10 - 10): The best song this band has ever made. A 7 minute masterpiece that includes exceptional lyrics, as well as a string section to go on top of their already heavy guitars, base and drums. This song will stick in your head for days. "And if you still hear my voice, give me a sign, let me know you're still here... like it or not." I really can't say enough great things about this track, it is perfect.

5. Monsters (9.5 - 10): First single off the album, extremly catchy. The guitar is hypnotic and the clap gets to me each time I hear it. Darker lyrics again (no different from the rest of the album), but the chorus is very catchy "We are the voices inside your head... yea believe what you see." Very fast paced, guitar work is excellent.

6. Say It Like You Mean It (7.0 - 10): Slower track, also not one of the best. Nice opening of a mellow acoustic guitar over soft lyrics, but the song lacks once trying to pick up. Nice premise of the chorus lyric wise (and song title) of repeated "Say it like you mean it", but the song falls flat as a whole. Catchy the first couple times heard, but gets boring pretty fast because it doesn't distinguish itself at any point.

7. Portrait (8.5 - 10): Similar to the last track with a slower opening, but the pickup is much improved, as well as much better lyrics "Look a little closer now, shut off, you should know this wasn't true. Taking your cheap shots till your black and blue." Base work on this track is excellent, actually overshadowing the guitar and drums at points (in a good way). Vocals are delivered perfectly for the lyrics... catchy chorus tops it all off.

8. Singing Bridges (7.5 - 10): Nice instrumental opening, espicially the guitar riffs, very hypnotic. Mellow vocal opening (simialr to the previous track in terms of delivery). Chorus is excellent, espically the drumming during it. Lyrics are a little lacking, thus the lower grade, but the instruments are top notch on this track.

9. Fiction (8.5 - 10): Closest thing to old Matchbook on this CD. Fast opening that does not stop throughout. Angry lyrics of a broken heart, with vocals that match the rage portrayed. Fast guitars, not heavy, and excellent drums. Chorus is addciting, will have you singing to yourself in no time.

10. What A Sight (8.5 - 10): The only true ballad on the CD, as well as the only track with upbeat lyrics instead of despair. Slow and sad in the mold of "Promise." One of my personal favorites because of its differing sound from the rest of the CD, as well as the change of lyrical meaning. A feel good song from their past with a new sound.

11. I Wish You Were Here (8.5 - 10): Listen to this one in a dark room with nothing but candle light, trust me you won't regret it. A mesmerizing song... extrememly relaxed and mellow, it takes you over as listening to it. Won't get you ready to face the world, but will put you in one hell of a relaxed mood. Very monotone, no real change in sound throughout the song, but still done perfectly. Secret track at the end (near the 12:15 minute mark) is an acoustic performance, also very well done.

I can't stress enough that this CD sounds nothing like their past releases, so get rid of any ideas like your going to hear something like "Stories And Alabies." Best comparison I can make is to Brand New "Deja Entriveu" (I know I spelled that wrong, my apologies, too lazy to look up the correct spelling). There are several stand out tracks on this CD, espicially Surrender, Mannequin, Goodie, Monster and Fiction. It might take a couple listens to truly appreciate how good this album really is, but I have doubt anyone will find it. A must own!

This album is a HUGE step forward for this band. Their debut and EP albums were both kind of watered down emo music. This album, however, displays a darker and more adult side to the band. There are slight hints of progressive guitar work in some tracks. The vocalist soars on this album, in both the slower and up-tempo tracks.

If you like heartfelt, creative yet accessible music with dark undertones...BUY THIS ALBUM.

I'm sorry, but "Voices" is an amazing cd and is sooo much better and more mature than anything Matchbook Romance has ever done before. I first got it as a birthday present in early April and to this day, I still find myself going back to it even when i spent the first few months in an obsessive trance with this cd. There's just something about it that keeps me engaged and makes me feel like part of the music.

I had been a fan of Matchbook Romance before "Voices" came out and had gone to several of their shows where they played songs from "West For Wishing" and "Stories and Alibis". These songs were pretty good so I was mildly excited to hear that they had (finally) come out with a new album, but they weren't a favorite of mine because of all the emo vocals sung in a very whiny and immature way. But everything I thought of them was flipped upside-down once "Voices" became part of my cd collection. There's almost none of the whining in the vocals that was there before, and instead there are intense emotions expressed more maturely than ever.

While "Monsters" is a great single that is now so popular it is the main song in the Madden soundtrack, there are lesser known songs that are arguably much better, which says a lot in itself. I like almost every song on this album, but "Surrender" and especially "Goody, Like Two Shoes" stand out for their amazing musical tapestry and intense maturity- these guys have really advanced and grown up. And frankly, I consider this cd to be from an entirely different group than the old Matchbook Romance because of how drastic the discrepancy in quality is, and that is a wonderful thing.