A re-review of The Matches

I’ve been listening to The Matches’ newest album A Band in Hope for about a month now and I thought it would be an interesting idea to re-write a review for it. My opinions on many of the songs have changed and upon listening further I found a new liking and ultimate respect for the CD.

The album begins with AM Tilts, which, in its corniness, I actually quite like. It’s not some odd quality that just makes it work much better than some of the other songs. It’s slightly quirky and shows off Shawn’s voice really well. It reminds me a lot of their second album, Decomposer, which is what I was hoping to get out of this album.

I know I said before that Their City needs to be listened to in moderation but now I really like it. It’s kitchy and weird and I enjoy being able to turn up the volume and let down the windows and just share The Matches with the world!... or the people around me.

Wake the Sun is my version of Darkness Rising to everyone else. Everyone I’ve talked to has become terribly bored with Wake the Sun but I still love it. I saw it live and it was just fantastic and gave me a new love for the song. I still stand by my previous mention that there is no real difference between the chorus and verses… which still bugs me.

Darkness Rising is still a song I can’t make it through. Something about the Queen quality just irks me and I can’t stand it. I love Jon but… not enough to live through that song any more than I have to.

To Build a Mountain starts out with some of the best lyrics I’ve ever listened to. “Maybe a saint is just a dead prick with a good publicist.” It’s hilarious and the rest of the song is just as perfectly written. The ‘doos’ and the humming still get to me. If the words weren’t so good, I’d say this song bit the big one. Those lyrics save it though.

I still can’t make it through We Are One… Nuff said.

I remember hearing the Locals’ version of Point Me Toward The Morning and I was so excited to hear that song again for A Band In Hope. Now I know why it reminded me of E Von Dahl Killed The Locals, probably because it was written when they were still The Locals… I still really like the song.

I had decided to give 24C a second chance when I had heard something new about the name of the song. I also didn’t have a choice but to listen to it while in the car headed to the concert… damn you Marie for having control over the CD player… Either way… I listen to it and the words and I get why people like it… I would just rather skip it and go to something more up beat while in the car.

I don’t listen to Clouds Crash anymore… Something about the way it bores me.

Between Halloweens has a new perspective for me as well. I used to skip it because I thought it would be another monotone, ridiculous song I didn’t want to listen to, but now I find myself leaving the song on, either out of boredom or the next button is too far away or… just because it’s good.

I don’t listen to If I Were You that much. It repeats the words over and over and over again that I get bored.

Future Tense is a song I’ve had stuck in my head since early this morning. I wasn’t too stoked about the song at the very beginning but it’s growing on me… slowly, but it growing on me nonetheless.

I still thoroughly enjoy Yankee In A Chip Shop.

Upon hearing that 24C was actually a plane seat that Shawn was in while he was writing said song, Proctor Rd. has a new meaning for me. With the line “This is your capitain speaking,” I’m not sure whether he’s talking about being in a plane but the little ding at the end that sounds like the seatbelt sign on a plane makes me wonder if he also wrote Proctor Rd. while on a plane. I also wonder… is there an actual Proctor Rd… if there is, where is it?

No Chicken Dinner for You

“21” soundtrack lacks oomph of film

By Amanda Throm

While bringing back memories of the two times I saw the movie, the “21” soundtrack doesn’t quite live up to the standards the movie held.

Starting the 15-song CD with The Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” is a different version that what we actually hear at the beginning of the film. It’s also not the first song of the film, regardless of the version. This song has got to be one of the most re-mixed and re-edited songs I’ve ever heard. This version from Soulwax is actually pretty good, but it would have been nice had we had the song in the proper place.

“Time to Pretend” from MGMT quickly became my favorite song of the film. We’re talking perfection here. It was very synthesizer-y but it was just the right touch to the beginning of the film.

Let’s get one thing straight: clapping in a song is never cool. “Big Idea” from LCD Soundsystem came in next and I was less than enthused by the song. It was very repetitive, almost like the CD was skipping.

“Giant” by D. Sardy feat. Liela Moss was boring at best. Her voice is evocative of Bjork, which I don’t really think can ever be a good thing. The song was very bass-ey, but not so bass-tastic that it drowned out her voice.

I couldn’t remember where in the movie “Always” by Amon Tobin came. Either way I was intrigue and fascination of the Radiohead/Cloud Cult sound the song had. This song had no lyrics, which I wasn’t surprised over because it’s a movie soundtrack, but I was bored either way after a couple minutes.

“Young Folks” by Peter, Bjorn & John came next. Ahh... the whistling, is all I have to say.

Yet another annoying voice came during “Mad Pursuit” by Junkie XL feat. Electrocute. It was, again, very repetitive and I recommend that you press the forward button on this song. It was just… bad. Any other words would be giving it a compliment.

“Sister Self Doubt” by Get Shakes sounds like it would be a good song past the 30 second mark but… no. That pre-fabricated bass is ridiculously unneeded regardless of the sound they were trying to achieve.

“I am the Unknown” by The Aliens was the first song in a while that I didn’t have the uncontrollable urge to skip ahead. This song brings me back to Ben (Jim Sturgess)’s first time in Vegas. It’s very melodic and has a lot of interesting chords. The only problem with the song is the last minute or so where all that’s said is “We are The Aliens” over and over and over. Needless to say, I skipped over it.

“Shut Up and Drive” by Rhianna was perfect for the point of the movie which it appeared. I’m not a huge Rhianna fan but the song worked so perfectly with the film that it didn’t matter.

Another repetitive song came with “Alright” by Knivez Out and I skipped ahead to “Tropical Moonlight” by Domino and quickly skipped again again to “Hold My Hand” by UNKLE. To say the least, “Hold My Hand” was a lot better than the previous two songs. For some reason, this song reminded me of an early 90s song; I felt like I should have been punching the air while listening to this song.

L.S.F (Lost Souls Forever) by Mark Ronson feat. Kasabian evoked a very 90s feel again but the lyrics didn’t make a whole lot of sense. They never say the title words and the lyrics have no meaning. It’s like incoherent babbling.

The final song was “Tender Buttons” by Broadcast and while fascinating in its computerized sound, I don’t remember hearing actual lyrics to this song so much as three or four words repeated. It probably would have been better to end with “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” since that was how the movie started… sort of.

If you’re thinking of buying the “21” soundtrack, don’t. Buy the movie when it comes out in a couple months. You’ll be saving a lot of money and you get to see a little more Jim Sturgess that way.