Matchbook Romance: Stories and Alibis

Matchbook Romance : Stories and Alibis
Label: Epitaph
Release Date: 9/23/2003
Review Date: 3/7/05

Matchbook Romance is made up of some young and talented musicians that are among the generations of kids who have come of age with the new so-called radio friendly punk on the airwaves. These guys certainly owe a bit to the likes of Jawbreakers and Jawboxes that went before them. They appear to be earnest and sincere while pounding out their music with efficient precision. The problem with bands like these is that maybe they are so young that they haven’t had much life experience to draw on, or haven’t developed a style of their own other than a perfect amalgamation of their influences to date. Further backing up this assertion the short video abou thte band that is included on the disc. On camera the band members don’t come across as having much of a history together, or even knowing each other that well. It’s as if they all came together as good musicians and discovered they had knack for making polished music that sounds a lot like a bunch of other bands are doing successfully on the radio, basically pop/emo music with a bit of a hard rock edge to it. Essentially, today’s teenybopper music. They do it well, but ultimately the end result is not unique or memorable. Extra points deducted for the annoying 71 extra tracks consisting of 4 seconds of silence before the “hidden” at the end.

Online Action: matchbookromance.com
Online Action: epitaph.com