Landing amidst a war zone of melodic breakdowns and an intertwining of strife like screaming and rich singing, it doesn't take long for the listener to be swept up into the fray that is the Matchbook Romance. Only one minute into the record with the album opener "14 Balloons," it's obvious that the band's debut EP West For Wishing is going to put them on the map as front runners of emotional hard core that kicks and pitches fits at an intensity level matched only by counterparts in the genre such as The Beautiful Mistake and Thursday.
Rising from the ashes of obscure acts like The Getaway and Fizzlewink, this Poughkeepsie, New York band is pulling no punches with their heavily powerful musical attack. "The Greatest Fall (Of All Time)," the second track on the record opens with an intricate and flowery guitar part with soothing vocals before feedback laden distortion kicks in and the dual vocals come into play. This sound, for the most part is what defines the EP. While it's not an entirely original sound (and can be found in what seems like nearly half of the bands Victory Records seems to be signing these days especially), it's a solid record. "Hollywood and Vine" has this same dynamic with the soft beginning and the climatic chorus.
"Farewell Friends" is by far the most energetic song on the record with its full throttle punk rock energy and well placed vocal harmonies while "Save Yourself," the EP's closing track, opens with a lone guitar riff before the drums and vocals kick in and the band breaks into full throttle for the final time. Vocalist/guitarist Andrew Jordan has a strong voice that's only destined to mature in future releases while bassist Ryan Kiele and drummer Aaron Stern run a tight ship with the rhythm section by staying in each other's pockets throughout the entire record. Guitarist Ryan DePaolo's performance here is excellent as well.
While they don't bring anything inherently original to the table, they're still great at what they play. I can only imagine what their growth will be like on future releases.
B
Similar sounding releases
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2003AnadivineAnadivine
2003DismissedTaking the Good with the Bad
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2000Relient KRelient K
2005RufioThe Comfort of Home
