Matchbox Twenty
Mad Season
(Atlantic)
by Jeff Leisawitz
ModernRock.com
In the world of rock 'n roll there is something commonly known as a 'big record'. Matchbox Twenty's latest offering, Mad Season, sure looks like it's going be a big record. Why? Well, the band's debut went multi. Singer Rob Thomas' collaboration with Santana became one of the best selling/ Grammy winning discs of last year. Then, before Mad Season even hit the street, the single, "Bent," became the most added song to commercial radio. Ever.
Of course, it remains to be seen whether the disc will sell a zillion copies and live up to the hype. But the famous sophomore slump certainly hasn't affected the songwriting. These tracks are tight but they don't pander to the hooks. The message is clear but there is still mystery in the music and in the rough corners of the language.
On "Angry," the album's opener, Thomas confronts his demons head on. The song is a personal catharsis that resonates right through your stereo. It will ring true to anyone who has been held down by forces beyond their control. It also sets the vibe for the rest of the disc.
"Crutch" throbs forward with heavy bass pulses while Thomas does his best to keep things from falling apart. The disintegration continues with "Last Beautiful Girl" and "If You're Gone". A quick, semi-conscious spin through these tracks might lead you to believe that they are mid-tempo love songs. But listen a little deeper and you'll hear the details of nasty break-ups and lost relationships.
Even as the guitars plow across the beats these tracks come across as smooth, polished productions. With horns, strings and synths all backing up the rock sound, it makes you wonder why the pain and anguish are blanketed with such elaborate arrangements. Apparently Rob Thomas doesn't agree. On "Stop" he sings, "I wear my heart on my sleeve/ And I forget the rest of me."
Good albums reveal more about an artist's inner life than most interviews or articles you'll ever read. Matchbox Twenty's Mad Season reads like a page straight of out Thomas' heartbreaking, semi-fiction love life. The hooks are not as up front as the first disc but the honesty is still there. And everybody knows, honesty counts.
