Rocks hard, while having a more considered and tempered edge.
Remember the time when you would spend days, or even weeks getting to know an album before truly deciding whether or not it was a masterpiece, or a giant’s coaster-set? Well UK Rock act Matchstickmen certainly do, with their debut outing ‘Through Hell And Kept Going’ being the sort of album that makes an all too polite initial impact, but grows and beguiles as you spend some quality time with it.
As straight up Rock goes, ‘Through Hell...’ shows Matchstickmen to be more than capable, with a touch of the Blues and a little Pop savvy adding depth and commerciality to an album that already convinces with strong riffing from Peter Donnelley and the confident vocals of Lewis Wright. That said, this quintet, who are already building a solid live reputation, aren’t quite yet the finished article, with this album being all a little too similar in pace to make the long lasting impact of which classics are made.
When things are taken down a little as they are on ‘Like Clockwork’ and ‘Our First Goodnight’ Donnelly’s vocals veer a little too much towards Michael Stipe, although thankfully without the pretentiousness and superiority that the REM leader seemed unable to avoid. However these are more minor niggles and glitches rather than spanners in the works, with the bright pulse of ‘Jealous Times’ and ‘Taxi Rank’ offering a steady stomp that the likes of D.A.D. would be more than happy to grind along to in a Rock ‘N’ Roll kinda way.
If you are looking for something that still Rocks hard, while having a more considered and tempered edge, then ‘Through Hell And Kept Going’ is an album that you’ll want to spend an evening or two with, you’ll find it time well spent.
Steven Reid
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