Onelinedrawing - Visitor (11 tracks) +Album Reviews

In the words of r2, WhheeeeEEEE!

Melissa Mendoza | San Francisco, CA United States | 07/16/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Onelinedrawing is a compilation of songs expressing two extremes: the blissful and the forlorn. Matranga masters this by not leaving you feeling bipolar, but rather at peace with melancholia while listening to 'um...' and then ready for the gleeful dance around your bedroom to 'smile'.

'Visitor' is free from all the saccharine that emotional truth often stirs up when paired with an acoustic guitar and pared-down vocals. In an age where deadpan and irony are still king, Jonah delivers great music through this filter but still manages to express raw emotion that doesn't drip with sap. The hard-edge indie set often greets mellifluous acoustic troubadours with a big yawn but they can't ignore Onelinedrawing for long."

Congrats to Jonah!

Chris Wren | Chicago, Illinois | 06/06/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Possibly the most personal and lovable frontmen in rock history, Jonah Matranga, lead singer of the now-defunct Sacramento emo-core band FAR, has put together one of his best releases since the Sketchy EPs. If you are reading this, then you probably are a Jonah fan, and it would be pointless to repeat all the compliments (or truths, as we wish to call them) about Jonah as a musician, as a writer, and as a person. Besides those things, it would be ideal for me to concentrate on the music.So, this CD is pretty much what you would expect out of a Onelinedrawing: Jonah and his guitar, R2D2 (his tape-deck that IS R2D2), and some sparse additional instrumentation. Jonah stays true to what his fans have loved of his music: the honesty, the beautiful vocals and true emotional quality that is associated with his music. While Jonah proclaims "Death to False Emo," he does so with backing: the man bares his soul and puts himself entirely into his music, making the songs take a lot of flight.The move to Jade Tree adds a lot, overall. With a larger budget, the songs are given a chance to fly and have a truly inspiring feel. Songs like "Bitte Ein Kuss" and "Yr Letter" are both truly beautiful in the traditional OLD sense but have the additional instrumentation and excellent recording quality that make them surpass anything he's ever released. A personal favorite, "Smile," has a solo by R2 which fits in perfectly: while being emotionally over-wrung, R2 comes in to save the day.I love this CD, and if you are familiar with any OLD releases, then this will be the one for you. Thank you Jonah for all the music and love."

GET THIS ALBUM

Dan Smith | Placerville, Ca United States | 06/27/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"New End Original and former Far frontman Jonah Matranga has created yet another perfect album. While this album has a much softer sound than Far's 'Tin Cans With Strings To You' and 'Water and Solutions' and New End Original's 'Thriller', it brings together some of the most melodic, mellow, introspective, beautifully written songs I have ever heard. Some songs such as 'Bitte Ein Kuss' and 'Smile' have a more pop sound to them, but the result is nothing short of spectacular. (R2-D2 has a solo in Smile that is awesome!)Jonah's lyrics are intensely honest. If they don't force you to feel your own personal emotions, then you will no doubt at least get caught up in the emotion Jonah conveys. Whether it's the love gone bad tearjerker 'Yr Letter', the happier love songs of 'Perfect Pair' and 'Bitte Ein Kuss' or the uplifting 'Smile' (my favorite track) this album runs the full gammot of human emotion during its 11 track span.If you've been a fan of Jonah for a while and are familiar with his previous work in Far, New End Original, and the Onelinedrawing EPs, get this album. If you've never heard of Jonah or any of his projects, get this album along with any and everything else from Far, New End Original, and Onelinedrawing. The point is GET THIS ALBUM!!!!!!!"

Sorry Jonah

the heckler | Michigan, USA | 03/14/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"First of all, I'm a big fan of Jonah and especially of Far. After purchasing all of the Onelinedrawing E.P.s and absolutely loving them, I had high hopes for the first full-length release. While there are some really great songs on here, such as "Yr Letter" and "Um...", there is something tedious about listening to the album as a whole. Some of the songs are just sub-par. Although I know very little about the making of this album, I get the impression that on some level maybe Jonah was a bit intimidated by the task of filling up a full-length OLD CD (understandable considering the emotion involved). It sounds like he took the first batch of songs to come into his head and committed to them regardless of whether or not they were up to the standards of his previous work. If this is somewhat true, then there was little or no filter to sift the weaker songs from the great ones. The end result sounds like a fantastic E.P. padded songs not cut out for an official release.

In short, good listening for the hardcore Jonah fans but not recommended as an introduction to OLD."

The Visitor Lands

D. Scharlach | Sacramento, CA | 10/22/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Having grown up in Sacramento and being exposed to the music of onelinedrawing's wizard behind the curtain, Jonah Matranga, I may be somewhat biased in this opinion. No, lets not call it biased, lets call it...educated. There's no way to experience an artist like seeing him play in a park right before the 4th of July, or watching him cramped in a little room called Old Ironsides announcing that he just jumped in the Sacramento river (on a freezing day in Winter).
That being said, all too often our favorite local artists sound great on stage but fail to reproduce the effect in the studio. Onelinedrawing has quietly put out e.p.'s of experimental home recording, learning to create the perfect masterpiece of bedroom pop right under our ears.
Onelinedrawing is a disarming experience. The vocals are uninhibited, completely up in the air for you to grab and savor. On this album every track is a poetic experience. The essence of the song cannot be boiled down to instrumentation, melody, vocals, and lyrics: they instead come together to create the perfect painting of sound, the perfect picture of real life and human emotions.
Whether he sings about old lovers, past regrets, uncontrollable love, love in any form, onelinedrawing has one message: I just want to see you smile.
And truly, with a gift like this, onelinedrawing makes it so easy sometimes."

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