Search - Matchbox Twenty :: More Than You Think You Are

May be Paramount

Luke Anthony | San Francisco, CA | 01/08/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This just may be the best album to come from a 90's band, although, it's kind of funny to say that when 2 out of their 3 released albums hit record stores after 2000. Nonetheless, they are a band from the 90's. They are a band that took rock music and said "let's have fun with it" but at the same time "we're gonna wear our hearts in our throats!" Not ever overdramatic (see Creed, Nickelback, or any of the bands that are an exact fingerprint of them), Matchbox Twenty still manages to pinpoint on all the dramatics of a relationship. Thomas is at his best when writing a hook. Take the first single on here: "Disease." Some don't like it. I do. Why? I remember the first time I ever heard it and thought to myself, "What is going on with this instrumentation/rhythm. I couldn't get a sense of where the beat was with the guitar slipping in and out. So I counted it out (as any musician would) and came to see how irregular his beat was inside a common time signature. I was hooked. No pun intended. "Bright Lights" moves into a different territory. He's dealing with a relationship's death due to a dream followed. Now, as much as I don't agree with his plea for her to "come back home," I can understand his yearning and his sadness, because for some reason, Thomas can write these lyrics that really get to you. "Unwell" is a bonafide MB20 hit. The hook is great, the lyrics maybe his best. "All night, hearing voices telling me that I should get some sleep because tomorrow might be good for something. Hold on, feeling like I'm headed for a breakdown." I have felt this; this feeling of going crazy after a breakup. It is horrible, and Thomas outlines each feeling with such color and darkness. Moving into "Cold" is exactly what it sounds like. This is a cold, hard song, and for me it was a hard sell, because it was so much darker in music tone and atmosphere than Thomas usually creates with his music. However, now it is a stand-out with some very inventive harmonies. "Hand Me Down" a Kleenex please. This is for anyone whoever felt like they weren't good enough for someone. This is by far wins the awards for "most strings pulled on out of the heart." Thomas may not write lyrics that reveal some new uncharted territory of the soul, heart or mind, but with this song, he cements his position as understanding it as well as anyone, and emoting it better than anyone. It helps that he never hides behind any shadows either. The last four tracks on the album are pure fun! Of course they still have the Thomas trademark of emotional disbursement, especially on "Downfall" in which at first we hear just another great rock song, but soon hear the faint strains of a Gospel Choir break out into a full-out Gospel-covered alteration of the same tune. At that moment, I thought to myself, "Hmmm, Rob Thomas could be a genius." It's sad that Rob Thomas is the only one writing such great rock music anymore. Were there 5 or 6 bands out there with originallity such as his, radio would be worth listening to. Until then, I'll XM or iPod all my music so I can tune out Nickelback without turning the station. Rob Thomas has earned his place as the best rock musician to emerge from the 90's. Thank God for him. Thank God."