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Incredibile quanto un gruppo possa cambiare, evolversi e (re)inventarsi da un album a un altro. Certo, dal già recensito "Voices" del 2006 a questo "Stories And Alibis" del 2003 sono passati tre anni, nei quali sicuramente i Matchbook Romance avranno molto sperimentato, ma andando a ritroso nel tempo e analizzando questo loro debutto non si può che rivalutare alla grande il secondo (e per ora ultimo) loro disco. Non fraintendetemi, non siamo di fronte a un fallimento totale. E' solo che, avendo ascoltato e essendo rimasto piacevolmente colpito da "Voices" speravo di ritrovare gli stessi elementi nel debut della band americana... Speranza naufragata solo in parte, dal momento che ci sono pezzi dannatamente orecchiabili e intensi, ma mancano in molte parti le chitarre avvolgenti e stratificate, la voce modulata e quanto mai espressiva, le atmosfere tese e sottilmente inquietanti. Insomma, quel che abbiamo è un disco emo-punk, buono per il momento nel quale è uscito, ottimo nella sua interezza per una certa fetta di mercato (anche attuale), purtroppo però solo appena sufficiente per (credo) tantissimi altri ascoltatori.
La seconda traccia nonché title-track parte sparata e carica, aggressiva quanto basta e con un ritornello molto convincente. Ad essere sinceri in questa canzone si possono intuire certe sonorità che poi compariranno maggiormente sviluppate nel secondo disco, sia nelle strofe che nel finale tumultuoso, con un ottimo lavoro delle chitarre e della sezione ritmica.
Stesso discorso può essere fatto per la successiva "Playing For Keeps", dove compaiono per la prima volta dei bei cambi di tempo e delle tastiere a incorniciare quello che è un bel quadro emo/indie, nel quale il gruppo si dimostra abile nello spaziare tra diversi momenti musicali all'interno di una stessa composizione, mostrando buona capacità creativa.
Per trovare qualche altro bello spunto si deve saltare sino a "Tiger Lily", polpettone acustico che ha però un certo pathos melenso e malinconico. Si deve riconoscere che il brano sa giocare le sue carte, basandosi su liriche di facile presa e una voce finalmente molto espressiva e intensa.
Da citare poi l'ottava "My Eyes Burn", sicuramente uno dei pezzi meglio riusciti dell'opera, imperniata su chitarre ora più rocciose e taglienti, trascinante nelle sue strofe e soprattutto nel ritornello, forse uno dei pezzi tra i più belli nella (breve) discografia dei nostri.
Chiuderei il tutto con la conclusiva "The Greatest Fall (Of All Times)". Summa del pensiero musicale del gruppo, la traccia fa bella mostra di momenti puramente emo-core (le urla in accompagnamento al chorus e gli arpeggi di chitarra intensi, distesi e espressivi), uniti a sprazzi punk (nelle accelerazioni improvvise) e a un cantato al massimo della sua estensione e purezza. Tutto sommato un bel pezzo, capace di coinvolgere e sicuramente in grado di raccogliere consensi un po' ovunque.
Il disco purtroppo però è composto anche di canzoni che più "teen" non si può. In certi momenti sembra infatti di sentire la colonna sonora di certi film americani sulla vita collegiale o universitaria, e ciò magari può infastidire chi come me è abituato a un suono un po' più maturo e meno spensierato (se mi si passa il termine). Le schitarrate pop punk possono piacere, ma a una certa età, e comunque appartengono a mio avviso a un passato musicale già percorso da tantissime band e per questo già trito e ritrito. Vero è però che si tratta pur sempre del debutto di un gruppo le cui radici stanno proprio in questo genere di musica, dunque ancora più lodevoli sono le tracce da me menzionate. Inoltre, come ho già detto, si tratta di un disco uscito cinque anni fa, e di acqua sotto i ponti ne è passata (prova ne è il secondo album del gruppo).
A conti fatti è un lavoro da sei e mezzo: terribilmente infiacchito e addolcito da certe composizioni, ripreso in parte da altre di ben diversa e migliore caratura. Ripeto, non è assolutamente da scartare, ma se volete conoscere i Matchbook Romance più maturi vi consiglio l'ottimo "Voices", disco sicuramente di maggior impatto emotivo e sicuramente molto più vario e meglio realizzato.
Elenco tracce testi e video
02 Your Stories, My Alibis (04:46)
Speak to me
Tell me something so typical
A lullaby or something so miserable
That will keep me up at night
Cross out my eyes
I know you planned it
You know I love you
and I can't stand it
We just lost control
CHORUS:
Lie to me
Give me something worth living for
Tell me a reason worth fighting for
Give me anything
Anything to keep me breathing
Lie to me
Give me something worth living for
Tell me a reason worth dying for
Give me anything
Anything to keep me breathing
Lie to me
Tell me stories so beautiful
An epic, or something so terrible
That it makes me weep
Cross out these days
On your calendar
It hurts me so much
And I'm not quite sure
I care anymore
CHORUS:
Lie to me
Give me something worth living for
Tell me a reason worth fighting for
Give me anything
Anything to keep me breathing
Lie to me
Give me something worth living for
Tell me a reason worth dying for
Give me anything
Anything to keep me breathing
03 Playing for Keeps (03:45)
It's so simple, it complicated
The way you can crush me
No matter how much this hurts
This is through
I get as far as your door before I get caught
I make up excuses just to touch you
And I can't stop, I can't stop
So are we playing for keeps?
These days begin and they don't end for weeks
You leave me left out of anything to do with you
Excuse me while I fall apart
Don't flatter yourself, sweetheart
Let me take the wheel and I'll crash this car
Do you have to make this so hard?
You're so good (you're so good)
At pretending everything is alright (alright)
You're as welcome as cancer
But my door is always unlocked
So are we playing for keeps?
These days begin and they don't end for weeks
You leave me left out of anything to do with you
Excuse me while I fall apart
Don't flatter yourself, sweetheart
Let me take the wheel and I'll crash this car
Do you have to make this so hard?
You're so good
You're so good
You're so good
You're so good
So are we playing for keeps?
These days begin and they don't end for weeks
You leave me left out of anything to do with you
Excuse me while I fall apart
Don't flatter yourself, sweetheart
Let me take the wheel and I'll crash this car
Do you have to make this so hard?
So are we playing for keeps?
These days begin and they don't end for weeks
You leave me left out of anything to do with you
Excuse me while I fall apart
Don't flatter yourself, sweetheart
Let me take the wheel and I'll crash this car
Do you have to make this so hard?
You're so good
You're so good
05 Lovers & Liars (03:20)
Let's start out by starting over.
What did I expect?
You're no good at lying and I'm no good at comebacks.
You're so untouchable.
I'm oh-so-terrible at this.
I'm terrible at this, you know.
Don't hold this against me.
I've already said I'm sorry.
And I bet you've got every word I said memorized in your head.
And you'll use every one of them
And you'll use every one of them against me.
Don't hold this against me.
I've already said I'm sorry.
Tell all your friends about me.
Don't hold this against me.
I've already said I'm sorry.
I hope you choke on every word you spoke when you were screaming at me.
I realize how many times you tried, but that's wishful thinking.
All I want is an apology for what you did and how you treated me.
Get me far away, or at least as far as this car will take me.
Tell all your friends about me.
Don't hold this against me.
I've already said I'm sorry.
Don't hold this against me.
I've already said I'm sorry.
06 Tiger Lily (03:03)
We drive tonight,
And you are by my side
We're talking about our lives,
Like we've known each other forever
The time flies by,
With the sound of your voice
Its close to paradise
With the end surely near
And if I could only stop the car
And hold onto you,
And never let go...
I'll never let go.
As we round the corner
To your house
You turned to me and said,
"I'll be going through withdrawal of you for this one night we have spent."
And, I want to speak these words
But I guess I'll just bite my tongue,
And accept "someday, somehow"
As the words that we'll hang from.
And I... don't want to speak these words.
Cause I, don't want to make things any worse.
Why does tonite, have to end?
Why don't we hit restart,
And pause it at our favorite parts.
We'll skip the goodbyes
If I had it my way,
I'd turn the car around and runaway,
Just you and I
And I... don't want to speak these words.
Cause I, don't want to make things any worse.
07 Shadows Like Statues (04:29)
Lights out, put my seat back as far as it will go
Casting shadows like statues I'm right outside your window
There's no such thing as second chance
There's no such thing, don't bother to explain
Your so beautiful, did you hear a word I said?
Your so beautiful, I guess this is what I get
We trust and believe so easily
And words they speak we seek security in one another
But there's no way to cover this
And these tragic nights and afternoons wreak disaster
And I can still feel you as if you were in the room
Where does our story end? where does it start?
I buried you along with my heart
Entertain me
Tell me it didn't mean anything
Its vengous worth my tolerance and I could be careless
But I promise you'll feel everything
Your so beautiful, did you hear a word I said?
(don't bother to explain) your so beautiful,(don't bother to explain) I guess this is what i get
We trust and believe so easily
And words they speak we seek security in one another
But there's no way to cover this
And these tragic nights and afternoons wreak disaster
And I can still feel you as if you were in the room
Where does our story end? where does it start?
I buried you along with my heart
I guess this is what I get (I know)
I guess this is what I get (did you hear a word I said?)
We trust and believe so easily
And words they speak we seek security in one another
But there's no way to cover this
And these tragic nights and afternoons wreak disaster
And I can still feel you as if you were in the room
Where does our story end? where does it start?
I buried you along with my heart
Did you hear a word I said?
08 My Eyes Burn (04:19)
My eyes burn from these tears
You think you'd learn over these years
Good things won't last forever
So what the hell am I supposed to do
You only wanted the things that I couldn't give to you
And you had it all anyway
So take take everything and leave me scrambling
Reaching for something that wasn't there in the first place
So take take everything and leave me scrambling
Reaching for something that wasn't there in the first place
Tell me i'm wrong when I say
I can't expect you to spend forever with me
I live for that single moment
I take back everything i've said
You wore those words on you lips
As if they meant anything anyway
Sometimes I feel I could drop off the face of the earth
It seems I do more harm than good
And I don't know if it's worth me loosing sleep over this
So take take everything and leave me scrambling
Reaching for something that wasn't there in the first place
So take take everything and leave me scrambling
Reaching for something that wasn't there in the first place
Tell me I'm wrong when I say it
I can't expect you to stay forever with me
I live for the single moment
So take everything and leave me scrambling
Reaching for something that wasn't there in the first place
So take take everything and leave me scrambling
Reaching for something that wasn't there in the first place
So take take everything and leave me scrambling
Reaching for something that wasn't there in the first place
09 She'll Never Understand (03:58)
leave a message on your phone
just to find out you're not home
keeping up with you is something i could never do
and i know something's wrong
cause you've been gone too long
a fucking waste of my time is all that you've become
if i can't be the guy that you've always wanted me to be
if i can't say the words that you always wanted me to say
if i fall in the end, will you be holding on to me?
because you, you said you'd never leave me
the choice is up to you
to find out what to do
to let it go or keep kicking me to the side
i'm getting tired of your shit
and i can't deal with it
i gave up giving in, and now it's time to say goodbye
if i can't be the guy that you've always wanted me to be
if i can't say the words that you always wanted me to say
if i fall in the end, will you be holding on to me?
because you, you said you'd never leave me
stay with me...
if i can't be the guy that you've always wanted me to be
if i can't say the words that you always wanted me to say
if i fall in the end, will you be holding on to me?
because you, you said you'd never leave
you, you said you'd never leave
you, you said you'd never leave me.
10 If All Else Fails (05:47)
A subdued silence undisturbed by the sound of her breath.
So carefully, brush her hair back from her eyes
In steady sequence, one by one.
She slips away.
So close your eyes and sleep to dream.
I'm by your side.
No words to speak.
We'll set our course and make it through.
No matter how far I go my heart remains with you.
And I'm not sure what I'm looking for.
But it's clear to see the purpose of my exsistance Is laying here in front of me.
So close your eyes and sleep to dream.
I'm by your side.
No words to speak.
We'll set our course and make it through.
No matter how far I go
And if all else fails you can look up at the sky
Because it's the same one that shines above you and I.
And if all else fails you can close your eyes
And I'll be right beside you.
I'll be the one by your side.
So close your eyes and sleep to dream.
I'm by your side.
No words to speak.
We'll set our course and make it through.
No matter how far I go
No matter how much this hurts
I wanted you to know,
My heart remains with you.
11 Stay Tonight (03:22)
49 hours and 46 minutes to go
but who's counting?
I just thought I'd let you know
I filled my head with your voice
and now I'm drowning
well I wrote this song for you
You can stay tonight and make everything alright
You can hold me down and tell me that you're right
Tell me whats its like to be alone...
And we had this down...unlike everybody
well I'll spend a million nights
just like tonight
You know I screamed your name at the sky
until I lost my voice
well I'd give my life for you
You can stay tonight and make everything alright
You can hold me down and tell me that you're right
tell me whats it like to be alone
(Let's go)
(You can Stay Tonight...)
You can stay tonight and make everything alright
You can hold me down and tell me that you're right
Tell me whats it like to be...
You can stay tonight (You can stay Tonight)
Make everything alright (Everything)
Cause Im alright (If you'd stay tonight)
You can hold me down and tell me that you're right
Tell me whats it like... to be alone
12 The Greatest Fall (of All Time) (04:03)
The hand on my clock strikes two
In times when I got the best of you
We made promises we couldn't keep
And every night we couldn't sleep.
I didn't know why, but didn't ask questions
because it was the first time in my life,
yeah the first time in my life
Where I, did something right.
I set myself up for the greatest fall of all time
You pick me apart
While I search for witty things to say (In my defense)
"You'll never amount to anything anyway"
(Don't press your luck, don't press your luck)
And think that I'm impressed with your one night stands
and your contagious kiss
I'm trying to get this right
Yeah, cause I'm ridiculous like that
I set myself up for the greatest fall of all time
I set myself up for the greatest fall of all time
I'll keep this as
A constant reminder
Of the nights I spent holding onto her
And rest assured I'm moving on
I miss you less, with each day your gone (your gone)
I set myself up for the greatest fall of all time
I set myself up for the greatest fall of all time
I set (I set) myself up for the greatest fall of all time
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