Search - Matchbook Romance :: Stories & Alibis

One of the top Emo Albums of '05

Matthew Berdan | Philadelphia, PA | 08/09/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was first introduced to Matchbook Romance a couple years ago at the Warped Tour. Being surronded by such bands as New Found Glory, Starting Line, and Something Corporate made it difficult for this band to really seperate themselves in my eyes. I picked up thier accoustic release under "Motion City Soundtrack" last year and it reminded me of The Starting Line's "Make Yourself At Home", to me, one of the best acoustic EP's written in the past five or so years.



To be honest, I did not expect much from "Stories and Alibis", but what I got was one of the best albums I have purchased in recent memory. For an album to be great to me, it has to provide three particular items. One is tone, an ability to captivate an audience to not only get pumped up by a guitar solo, but also pay attention to the words being sung. Two is diversity. Any band can play the same music over and over for 40 minutes, for it to be something special, they have to take time out to make some sound different. And lastly, staying power. The CD doesn't need to stay on the billboard top 100 or anything, but as the person who purchased the CD, if it stay in constant rotation for over 6 months, that CD has stayed around.



For me, "Stories and Alibis" fits those criteria. I purchased the CD back in January and have not stopped listening to it since then. Each song carries with emotion, musical talent and powerful lyrics to boot. The first single off the CD, "My Eyes Burn" is broken heart anthem for the youth of america. The hypnotic guitar lines along with the simple open of "My eyes burn from these tears" grips the audience to let themselves go with the song. The second track, "Playing For Keeps" is a remake of their accoustic release off of the "Motion City Soundtrack." They continue to use an enticing musical formula as to keep the audience pumped up with the rhytm of the song, yet saddened at the message it gives off. It speaks of a something everyone has gone through, being in a bad relationship but being able to get out, as evidenced by the line "your welcome has cancer, but my door is always open wide."



The real treat of the CD comes in the shape of track 4 "Promise." A song about young love, when all you need is that person by your side to get through anything the world throws your way. Lyricaly, to me this is the best Matchbook Romance has to offer. Musically, it is a ballad that doesn't put you to sleep or cause tears of sadness. It makes you want to stand up and face today and simply live. This one can be replayed over and over again...



Those are only three of eleven excellent tracks off this album (I do not count the introduction as a song since no lyrics are involved). Personally, I find track 6 "Tiger Lilly" a bit too slow for my liking, but none-the-less it delivers as a heart felt ballad for the young and confused. There are not too many other CD's that I thought were better then this one for the punk/emo genre. Anberlin's "Never Take Friendship Personal", Mae's "The Everglow" and Jimmy Eat World's "Futures" were the only other CD's I would put in the same category of Matchbook Romances' "Stories and Alibis." An absolute must have!"

WhaT? Where did this come from??

K. Drouhard | NY | 09/03/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I admit it. I never listen to punk. I own 40+ rap albums, and no punk or anything else. So I have what you call a "closed-mind" when it comes to other genres of music. I was introduced to this band, and I found out you can listen to all the tracks online. So I let them play, and went to sleep. When I wake up, most of my bad judgement of music is gone. And what I heard was the song Tiger Lily, it just happened to be on this song. It was really good!! I couldn't believe it, that I was actually diggin something that wasn't rap. But, I really really liked it. Now, that I'm one of their newest fans, I am gonna buy the cd. I can't wait. I read their lyrics a lot now and try to sing along. The lyrics are so good and it hits home when you listen to it. You can relate to this guy's lyrics, i dont know his name but he is really good. I hope he breaks through to the mainstream music soon so everybody can be exposed to this great music."

So are we playing for keeps?

D. Potter | VA | 01/16/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ahhh.... where to begin? I think I'll start with the bad, since there's significantly less of it than the good. In fact, I really only have one complaint, and it's more a matter of personal taste, I guess. And it's the vocals. Mind you, they aren't bad, just I couldn't help feeling like the album could have rocked so much more with an excellent vocalist. Not to knock Andy's voice, he is talented, and I'm still giving the cd five stars. So with that out of the way, on to the good...The album is solid on just about every point - the drumming, guitars, bass - all these guys are very talented, and the way they put it together is beautiful. The lyrics are incredible, especially in "Playing for Keeps" - which I consider the best song on here. Another thing I admired was the band's ability to sing out fast, hard, rockers (again, "Playing for Keeps") while also playing an acoustic song ("Tiger Lily") to perfection. The variety on the album is impressive, you won't be bored, and Matchbook Romance certainly doesn't fall into the "all the songs sound the same" stereotype that is prevalent these days.I guess I'm expected to list off a bunch of bands that MR is similar to. I think a couple people have already made mention of Taking Back Sunday, and I would have to agree there. I also would draw a connection with Brand New, especially their first album ("Your Favorite Weapon"). But in reality, Matchbook Romance has it's own unique style and sound. One that is very aesthetically pleasing at that. If you're a fan of emo, or even pop-punk, you'll probably like this band, and I encourage you to give them a try.Standout tracks on the album were: "Playing for Keeps", "Promise", "Shadows Like Statues", "My Eyes Burn", "If All Else Fails" and "The Greatest Fall"."