The Matchbox - Red Eyes (single review)
Straight to the point indie-rock with flares of rock 'n' roll for good measure
Coming out with a sound, that does appear out of place with their peers in the pulsing vein of Hull's indie-rock scene, to an audience locked down tight in the midst of a pandemic. With this release, The Matchbox feel whole-heartedly nostalgic. Harrisons' voice has much less twang than previous releases and all-in-all it's a much-welcomed movement away from sounding like a young Luke Pritchard. This being said I'd hope he'd sound much more engaged with the lyrical content and a little more confident with his delivery, although I'm sure that will come with time.
The song wastes no time getting into 5th gear, taking a lot of influence from the intro "The View From the Afternoon" (which it has to be said was also taking a lot of influence from "Richard III" by Supergrass) with an added swaggering guitar solo for good measure. It feels familiar in a pleasant way and at the very least shows that they're using decent starting points for a young band in their early days.
During my first few listens I thought that The Matchbox's lyrics were hinting at something a bit more sinister than what your average indie-rock band is writing about; domestic violence. With lyrics like "Take all the hits you need/i'll cover it up when I get back" and "Watch what you say to me/and put out your cigarette" the song was pulling me into some much darker themes of control. However, on many more listens, it seems that my initial interpretation was way off, especially with a clear title of "Red Eyes" which is an obvious hint to the Devil's Lettuce whilst also bringing the use of "Take all the hits you need" into a different direction. I can't say that if it is about domestic violence it would be a better song, but I would certainly respect such a young band attempting to explore subject matters that their peers are not.
So, The Matchbox has delivered a three-minute indie-rock tune with some flares of rock-n-roll guitar work from Cam, nothing is out of place if you like your indie music straight to the point with some short and sweet pop hooks and the energy which seems to be infecting the water of Hull bands at the moment. Unfortunately, although a solid track which I'm sure would be a downright hit at live shows, the production let the track down drastically. I don't believe the is the entirely the band's shortcomings though, the rhythm guitar feels to thin and too washed out to deliver to real oomph in the track, the snare and toms are poorly mixed and the harmonies seem like a claustrophobic afterthought (which either shouldn't be in there or done better). Adam's bass work does break out the mix nice creating a nice groove when he moves into the territory of the higher strings and the Cams guitar work certainly pops when it comes time for a solo. It seems a step-down in production depth overall than their previous track "Do you wanna?" but is more welcomed than the tinny sound of "Strong"
If you're a fan of the band's clear influences (such as Catfish and Bottlemen, The Arctic Monkeys and The Kooks) or you are a fan of other local bands in the same vein (such as Sunday at Two, Aphelia and The Vida Cult) then I see no reason that these guys shouldn't also be in your radar and on playlists.
3/5 - Shows a lot of promise for future endeavors.
Check them out on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/track/3yrPj55x3Nt8e8EokXXT9M Check them out on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/thematchboxmusic/