The Chorus Music Club Society • Page 374

About to post my Matchbox Twenty review and I just hope I don't get sued for using the album art with the guys face on it...

 

Review: Matchbox Twenty – Yourself Or Someone Like You
Release Date: 1st October 1996
Trading Partner: @Davjs

Matchbox Twenty is an American rock band, formed in Orlando, Florida, in 1995. The group currently consists of Rob Thomas, Brian Yale, Paul Doucette and Kyle Cook. Yourself Or Someone Like You is their debut album and was released in 1996.

Matchbox Twenty produced their debut album when the 90’s music scene had hit its peak. The album fully relies on post-grunge rock music that is heavy on lead and rhythm guitars. This album showcases Rob Thomas’ anger, emotion and utter sadness and probably hit me at round about the right time of my life now although it was released over 20 years ago. The album ended up being the ninth-biggest selling debut of all time and it’s pretty simple to see why that is.

Opener “Real World” starts the album with a fun, guitar driven with a strong lead. This song sets an upbeat pace for the album however this song is about the dissatisfaction in Thomas’ life and explores what it is to live life as someone else. The riffs are an unexpected feeling of hope but Thomas’ sings about how he could make life better or worse. Thomas sings “I wish the real world would stop hassling me” and this is where I started connecting to the album on a more personal level.

Next song is “Long Day” which is an acoustic entry that smashes into an electric rock piece. There is tension before it switches back to the acoustics and a strong outro. It begins to show that with this album fans found a comfort and a piece to know that they were not alone.

“3 A.M.” is a song about Thomas’ living with his mother whilst she fought cancer during his childhood. Thomas’ still manages to keep the song on a high tempo. The guitar is patient with a catchy leading riff and instantly becomes the most recognisable hit from the album. Thomas manages to sing this song with so much passion but you can hear fear in his voice when he sings “I can’t help but be scared of it all sometimes.” This song will be stuck in your head with its desperation and anticipation of hope despite life’s setbacks.

The next song on the album, titled “Push”, tells the story of an emotionally and physically abusive relationship by a girlfriend. The chorus of “I wanna push you around, well I will” which sadly still employs the same attitude today than it did 20 years ago. It is a testament to abusive relationships however shows the same political standpoint that we can evidently still be seen happening. This song stuck with me more than any other for some pretty personal reasons. Thomas’ voice has such a durability and shakiness in the delivery of his words. There is such darkness filled with sombre venom that is heart-breaking yet soft but as much bite as it shows, there is an endurance that gives anyone that has been abused a voice.

“Back 2 Good” is a song about cheating couples who wish for more. It captures the textures of loneliness and longing. It involves meaningful connections before hitting a repeating hook that changes key dramatically to match the angst in Thomas’ voice.

“Kody” is another sombre tune about depression and manifestation of influences on the mind. It is a disheartening tale of turning to “the bottle” and asking for direction. Thomas writes about the death of a child and cries “If you’ve never heard that silence, it’s a god-awful sound”. This album doesn’t have hooks that initially stand out but this song especially shows that passion that pours from Thomas and it resonates in everything that he does. Each song is a beautiful craft with such honesty that these songs are anything but bland.

“Busted” is a song about fear of intimacy, expressed through casual sex, which has a backdrop of destructive guitars, piano and a chorus that might just steamroll right over you.

The album closer “Hang” is layered with acoustic strumming, simple construction, and a message about learning to let go. It is an emotional experiment ad conveys the albums message well. However, it was the first half of this album that hit me more. The other half did not connect as much as the first and I think this is part of why I did not enjoy the back of this album. That’s not to say that it wasn’t good, it just didn’t have that spark that I was expecting to flow throughout the whole album.

I haven’t really spoken much about the music of this album, simply because it is straight up 90’s rock tones, but more because it was Thomas’ raw voice and the durability of its application that stuck with me more. It has a vibrato that not only shakes on the delivery of his lyrics but it hits you right when it needs to. He is not only singing his lyrics but using his voice as an instrument that weaves and hits you with a soft grit and soul that can only come from Thomas and sit within. This album is Matchbox’s allure and if the band was under anyone else’s leadership then the vocal tenacity would be lost and with that the soul of the album. I can see why this album stuck with fans for so long and why it earned the status that it did. The themes portrayed are personal and honest and I can respect that. For any new fans, I would recommend this album as a starting point to the band, Rob Thomas’ solo efforts, and a portrayal into honest music.

 

At the buzzer, here is this week’s CMCS pairings!

CMCS PAIRINGS
08/13-08/20

@bachna84 // @figureitout

@Larry David // @edisnfg

@Nate_Johnson // @GBlades

@anonimito // @Davjs

@Patterns in Traffic // @xapplexpiex

@ugman_2000 // @anonimito

@teebs41 // @Kiana

@Jim Morgan // @summertimejesus

@iCarly Rae Jepsen // @disambigujason

@marioeatworld // @SamLevi11

@Bad Frequencies // @Anarchivist

 

My mom got this album when I was in elementary school and she played it in the car all the time. I loved it.
Their album Mad Season is another good one.

 

I remember listening to them with my parents and I'm sure it was Mad Season. Don't know how I missed this one .

 

I have the pleasure of being paired with our newest member @figureitout this upcoming session!

She’ll be listening to Third Eye Blind - Blue

I’ll be listening to Mansions - Doom Loop

 

That Mansions album! I always have the debut New Best Friends playing. Fucking fantastic discography.

 

Both of those are fantastic

 

@Anarchivist and I have traded.

They gave me:

Thank You Scientist-Maps of Non-Existent Places

I gave them:

Unwritten Law- Elva

 

I'm trading with @Nate_Johnson

I will be listening to: Lucero - Nobody's Darlings
He will be listening to: Jack Garrett - Phase

My favourite song, Surprise Yourself, is on the album and that is partially why I traded it and everyone should listen to it right now.

 

Beat me to it! Looking forward to listening!

 

Bit of a different one again but here's hoping you'll like it!

 

Man Nobody’s Darlings is such a great album. It’s prob between that, That Much Further West and 1372 Overton Park for my fav Lucero album. The fact I can only whittle it down to 3 shows you just how consistently great that band is.

 

I've the heard the new one is up there with those as well. I need to get to it!

 

Yeah I haven’t had a chance to check that out either yet, the tracks I’ve already heard sound great though.

 

I gave @Patterns in Traffic HNDRXX by Future
He gave me The Sun & the Sea by American Empire

 

"American Empire" is a fantastic album!

 

Me and @anonimito have traded the following albums this week:

They've given me NYVES album Anxiety

I've given them Counting Crows album August and Everything After

 

Wow, that Counting Crows album is great!

 

I've been wanting to rec that album in here for a while but a lot of this forum have already heard it. Luckily @anonimito hadn't and will get the chance to review one of my favs

 

That surprises me! I thought @anonimito was the 90’s guru!

 

Lol! Well, I do know that I've heard a single or two, but for some reason I never sought out the whole LP, or any album by Counting Crows, actually. I'm looking forward to this!

 

I think what’s great about Counting Crows is they didn’t fit the mold of a lot of other alt rock bands and had more in common with bands like Blues Traveler or Dave Matthews Band.

 

I'm also in the camp of folks who are big on 90s music but never checked out Counting Crows back then. I agree with @Nate_Johnson that they seemed a bit outside of the alt rock scene that was my bread and butter at the time. I also remember that the popular opinion at the time (at least in my circles) was that they were kind of lame and not a cool band to be into. Thankfully that sentiment seems to have faded over time and I finally checked out their great discography a few years ago.

 

The album art is one of the reasons I never got this on vinyl lol, not a fan.

Nice! I never payed too much attention to the lyrics actually, but yeah they do seem dark when I think about it haha. I just love the songs and melody in them so much.

You touched on all my favorites, Long Day, Push, Back 2 Good and Kody!