How was this thing going to get mixed? How was it going to sound like a record?" "Epitaph was really worried, actually, about it. "The one loose end, given the process, was how was it going to sound like a cohesive record, coming from all different sessions and all these different producers and sound influences," Harris said. And the approach created one major challenge in particular. The idea of using different producers for each track on a CD is nothing new in hip-hop and R&B, but it's rare in rock. ![]() Included in that group were Brett Gurewitz (owner of Epitaph Records and member of Bad Religion), Nick Hexum (of 311), John Feldmann (of Goldfinger), Mark Hoppus (of +44 and Blink-182) and Tim Armstrong (of Rancid) - all musicians the Matches had met over the course of touring. For the CD, the Matches (Harris, bassist Justin SanSouci, guitarist Jon Devoto and drummer Matt Whalen) took the highly unconventional approach of having nine producers record the CD's 13 tracks. The diversity of "Decomposer" extended to the actual recording process. Von Dahl" are sprinkled within songs throughout "Decomposer," but only a couple of songs - the jagged "Clumsy Heart" and "Shoot Me In The Smile" - come close to reprising the sound of the previous CD. "Sunburn Versus the Rhinovirus" takes concise guitar rock to twisted and thorny extremes, while "Lazier Than The Furniture" the group goes punk rock.Įlements of the more straight-forward guitar rock of "E. "Didi (My Doe, Part 2)" offers a bit of sugary high-energy pop, while "You (Don't) Know Me" goes giddy with its hyper dance-pop sound. "Drive" and "Little Maggots" mix elements of techno and guitar rock. The lead track, "Salty Eyes," opens to the strains of violins and the Matches weave their way through this taste of chamber pop. Just how quickly the band is moving forward is apparent almost from the opening notes of "Decomposer." "Maybe you should ease people into it and include similar songs that sound like your first album and just kind of slowly change. ![]() "I think, this second album is vastly different," Harris said. The same can't be said of "Decomposer," and Harris said he heard his share of cautionary words about the direction of the CD, which the band considers its second "real" album. Von Dahl" fell comfortably within the guitar rock/pop sound favored by many modern rock acts. That CD, which followed a 2003 self-titled debut that the band released itself, offered subtle hints that the Matches might outgrow the kind of guitar pop sound played by the likes of Fall Out Boy and scores of other pop-punk/emo/screamo bands. ![]() In fact, the Matches took a bold enough step forward on "Decomposer" that the band risked confusing some fans of its previous CD, "E. But if the ambition and adventurous nature the group shows on its current CD, "Decomposer," is any indication, the Matches might just have the right outlook and make-up to be a band that lasts and covers some distinctive musical ground along the way. Harris is realistic in noting that his band is just beginning to make a name in the rock world. "If we're able to do this on our terms, I'd love to be a huge act, an act that lasts many years and people refer to as breaking some musical ground and inspiring people," he said in a recent phone interview. Shawn Harris, singer-guitarist of the Matches, doesn't shy away from setting the bar high for the kind of career he'd like the band to have. 8 (Forgive Durden, Broadway Calls and The Formal open)
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