As refined as Eighties Matchbox’s sound is, it seems that nobody really knows quite what to class them as. I’ve seen a range of interesting punts at forcing this particular pigeon into a tight hole, including psychobilly, psychosis rock, gothic cabaret and my own personal favourite, swamp-rock.
But this is an album that has had one hell of a gestation period, so have things changed at camp B-Line? A five year gap between last release The Royal Society has seen a smattering of rock star stories: members converting to Buddhism, lead guitarist Andy Huxley throwing in the towel blaming a “decrease in musical similarities” and hair styling that is begging for a contract from VO5.
So in comes new guitarist Tristan McLenahan, who doesn’t really seem to add much that is new to the Matchbox sound. The majority of riffs throughout are solid: lead single ‘Love Turns To Hate’ has a punch laden with gravitas and ‘Never Be The Same’ has a sadistic stomping crush to it,
The forefront of Matchbox remains Guy McKnight’s authoritative vocal delivery. Channelling everything from David Bowie-esque theatrics (‘Riptin’) to a slack-jawed drone a la Josh Homme, his performance is wired and effectively weird. It’s in his voice that the psycho element truly stands out, at times sounding like a man on the brink of a paranoia induced freak-out.
When the band scales back the noise, it’s to mixed effect. ‘So Long Good Night’ sees McKnight’s lyrics pay tribute to the wry, tongue-in-cheek sarcasm of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Babe I’m Gunna Leave You’, but the song itself seems out of kilter with the rest of Blood & Fire, a love-tinged soliloquy not exactly being the kind of thing that McKnight excels at putting into words. ‘Don’t Ask Me To Love You’ is a similar experiment that fares better, with McKnight’s preacher vocals pitched perfectly over the drunken swagger of the rhythm section.
The thing is with Eighties Matchbox, is that they’ve always appeared to be a singles kind of band, with songs such as ‘Mister Mental’ and ‘In The Garden’ becoming flash in the pan must-loves. There’s a similar sentiment throughout with Blood & Fire, with the gulf between the sure-fire hits and filler material pretty expansive. ‘Homemade’ sounds totally out of place with its Blondie-esque riff, especially when it’s sat next to the previously mentioned ‘Don’t Ask Me To Love You’.
Having worked with desert-rock pioneer Chris Goss (Kyuss, Masters Of Reality) in the past, it’s unsurprising that some of the material here presses a few of those stoner-jam buttons. ‘Man For All Seasons’ could have come out of the Eagles Of Death Metal camp with its falsetto chorus and wrangling guitar solo, while ‘Monsieur Cutts’ echoes the furiousness of Queens Of The Stone Age’s ‘Quick And To The Pointless’. But despite the latter’s bluster, it struggles to be anything less than repetitive and limp.
All in all this is another solid, if rather uninventive, release from the Brighton band. Perhaps the reason they are so cunningly difficult to categorise is because they relentlessly peddle their own idiosyncratic style. The trials and tribulations of five years haven’t diluted this attitude. But despite its disadvantages in playing the same familiar tricks, Blood & Fire is another slab of heavy rock that will happily soundtrack a couple of lecherous summer nights. Just don’t expect the psychosis to keep you interested for too long.
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Throughout eighties matchbox's history they have been individual when writing and performing songs, yes they take influences like everyone does… otherwise they wouldn't be living… they envelop all the best parts of Rock 'n' Roll and spew them out to create something full of guts each time… at this moment in time they are still unbeatable, this album incorporates their history of music and more.
There isn't a band out there that can pull it out the bag like they do, they are a powerful energy!
Dance like no ones watching.
Your review is laughable. The album is phenomenal.
lyrics!?…. Where?
Yey the lyrics are brilliant at that aren’t they, hey if you find them post it here please that would be great, to me most of them are superb, descriptive, evocative, graphic, poetry put to amazing music!
TEMB-LD are a band that cannot be pigeon-holed, so don’t even try! All bands have influences, but few ingest music and spit it back out there as something completely fresh and all of their own creation.
It amazes me just how much TEMB-LD are overlooked when they have released some of the most interesting and invigorating music I have ever heard and continue to be such a thrilling live bands.
I can only presume that it is the band’s vast individuality and the fact that they don’t sound like other artists that confuses the critics, and so they will (unfortunately) continue to be a little cult-ish. Maybe one day the music industry and those who decide radio playlist will develop some balls. Hopefully that day will come sooner rather than later!