MATCHBOX TWENTY
"YOURSELF OR SOMEONE LIKE YOU"
Atlantic
1996
Desde siempre lo que mas me a cautivado de Matchbox Twenty es la fuerza y la energia en como transmiten sus canciones. Con 12 millones de copias vendidas, Yourself or Someone Like You terminó siendo el noveno álbum debut más vendido de todos los tiempos, y es fácil ver por qué. Con sus ritmos pegadizos, lirismo reflexivo y gran trabajo instrumental, Yourself or Someone Like You es un gran álbum debut de una banda que más tarde llegaría a ser una de las más grandes bandas de pop-rock de la siguiente década .
Seis
singles del álbum son las primeras seis canciones en el álbum,
incluyendo cuatro Top 40 hits. El álbum da el pistoletazo de salida con "Real World" con su riff de guitarra infecciosa, la
materia lírica única y relevante con pegadizo estribillo de "I wish the real world would stop hassling me". "3
AM", escrito por el vocalista Rob Thomas acerca de la batalla de su
madre contra el cáncer durante su infancia, es el éxito más reconocible del
álbum. Llego a las más altas esferas como el single del álbum, alcanzando el puesto #3 en el Billboard Hot 100. Con un estribillo pegadizo y un riff de guitarra que se asegura para ser pegada en nuestra cabeza durante días, "3 AM" es una de las mejores canciones del álbum. "Push",
el segundo mayor éxito del álbum, cuenta la historia de un hombre en
una relación tanto física como emocionalmente abusa de su
novia, con su potente coro de "I wanna push you around, well I will".La segunda mitad del álbum es tristemente más pobre que el primero, con algunas canciones que pueden darnos la sensación de usar y tirar y de relleno. "Argue" presenta versos aburridos y una actuación vocal mas débil por parte de Thomas. Los
últimos treinta segundos hay un aumento repentino de la energía y de la
pasión, pero para entonces la canción ya se ha ido a la basura. "Damn" recibe repetitiva y rápidamente la frase del titulo del tema varias
veces durante los versos, junto con un estribillo repetitivo que rima "nothing at all" tres veces, y "Busted" se basa en un riff de
guitarra irritante y una interpretación vocal modesta por Thomas.
Por
suerte, después de esas pistas muestran una caída en la calidad,
obtenemos "Kody", el punto culminante de la segunda mitad del álbum. Una
balada sentida y sentimental acerca de la depresión y el alcoholismo,
"Kody" muestra el lado más personal del lirismo de Thomas, con un montón
de emoción en su voz. "So please hand me the bottle, I think I’m lonely now / And I don’t feel nothing", canta tejiendo la historia de la melancolía y la
tristeza en una canción maravillosa. Y clausura el disco con "Hang" en un número acústico con un coro potente y emocional que dice "And we always say, it would be good to go away, someday / But if there's nothing there to make things change". "Hang" cierra el álbum con una nota sombría, pero esperanzadora, poniendo fin a un brillante álbum con una canción brillante.Hay que decir que Yourself or Someone Like You es un grandísimo álbum debut de una banda que iría a cosas más grandes y mejores. Hay un montón de canciones que son himnos de Matchbox en tiempos posteriores a este álbum, entre ellos hay dos de los mayores éxitos de la banda. Aunque
hay algunas canciones como dije antes de usar y tirar en la segunda mitad del álbum, hay
suficientes puntos culminantes repartidos por el resto del disco para
compensar la carga de todo el álbum. Es agradable de escuchar, un disco en plenitud de los años 90s, el álbum no marcaría un antes y un despues de la decada, pero ayudaria un poco mas a comprenderla para esos fans del pop-rock y del post-grunge.
Since always captivated me most to Matchbox Twenty is the strength and energy in as transmit their songs. With
12 million copies sold, Yourself or Someone Like You ended up being the
ninth best-selling debut album of all time, and it's easy to see why. With
its catchy tunes, thoughtful lyricism and great instrumental work,
Yourself or Someone Like You is a great debut album from a band that
would later come to be one of the greatest pop-rock bands of the next
decade.
Six singles from the album are the first six songs on the album, including four Top 40 hits. The album kicks out with "Real World" with its infectious guitar riff, the relevant and unique lyrical matter with catchy chorus of "I wish the real world would stop hassling me". "3:00 a.m.", written by vocalist Rob Thomas about his mother's battle against cancer during childhood, is the album's most recognizable success. I arrive at the highest levels as the single from the album, reaching # 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. With a catchy chorus and a guitar riff that is assured to be stuck in your head for days, "3:00 a.m." is one of the best songs on the album. "Push", the second biggest hit of the album, tells the story of a man in a relationship both physically and emotionally abuses his girlfriend, with its powerful chorus of "I wanna push you around, well I will." Second half of album is sadly poorer than the first, with some songs that can give us the feeling throwaway and filler. "Argue" features verses boring and weakest vocal performance by Thomas. The last thirty seconds there is a surge of energy and passion, but by then the track has gone to waste. "Damn" and quickly gets repetitive topic title phrase several times during the verses, along with a repetitive chorus that rhymes "nothing at all" three times and "Busted" is based on a guitar riff and a vocal irritant modest by Thomas.
Luckily, after these tracks show a drop in quality, we get "Kody", the highlight of the second half of the album. A heartfelt and sentimental ballad about depression and alcoholism, "Kody" shows the personal side of the lyricism of Thomas, with a lot of emotion in his voice. "So please hand me the bottle, I think I'm lonely now / And I do not feel nothing," he sings weaving the story of melancholy and sadness in a wonderful song. And closing the album with "Hang" in an acoustic number with a chorus powerful and emotional that says "And we always say, it would be good to go away, someday / But if there's nothing there to make things change." "Hang" closes the album on a somber note, but hopeful, ending a brilliant album with a song to say brillante.Hay Yourself or Someone Like You is a great debut album from a band that would go to bigger and better things . There are plenty of songs that are anthems Matchbox in later times this album, including two of the biggest hits of the band. Although there are some songs like I said before throwaway in the second half of the album, there are enough highlights scattered throughout the rest of the album to offset the burden of the entire album. It's nice to hear a full album of the 90s, the album does not mark a before and after of the decade, but would help to understand a little more for those fans of pop-rock and post-grunge.
Puntuación *8/10
Sergio Verdiell (SvS)
Six singles from the album are the first six songs on the album, including four Top 40 hits. The album kicks out with "Real World" with its infectious guitar riff, the relevant and unique lyrical matter with catchy chorus of "I wish the real world would stop hassling me". "3:00 a.m.", written by vocalist Rob Thomas about his mother's battle against cancer during childhood, is the album's most recognizable success. I arrive at the highest levels as the single from the album, reaching # 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. With a catchy chorus and a guitar riff that is assured to be stuck in your head for days, "3:00 a.m." is one of the best songs on the album. "Push", the second biggest hit of the album, tells the story of a man in a relationship both physically and emotionally abuses his girlfriend, with its powerful chorus of "I wanna push you around, well I will." Second half of album is sadly poorer than the first, with some songs that can give us the feeling throwaway and filler. "Argue" features verses boring and weakest vocal performance by Thomas. The last thirty seconds there is a surge of energy and passion, but by then the track has gone to waste. "Damn" and quickly gets repetitive topic title phrase several times during the verses, along with a repetitive chorus that rhymes "nothing at all" three times and "Busted" is based on a guitar riff and a vocal irritant modest by Thomas.
Luckily, after these tracks show a drop in quality, we get "Kody", the highlight of the second half of the album. A heartfelt and sentimental ballad about depression and alcoholism, "Kody" shows the personal side of the lyricism of Thomas, with a lot of emotion in his voice. "So please hand me the bottle, I think I'm lonely now / And I do not feel nothing," he sings weaving the story of melancholy and sadness in a wonderful song. And closing the album with "Hang" in an acoustic number with a chorus powerful and emotional that says "And we always say, it would be good to go away, someday / But if there's nothing there to make things change." "Hang" closes the album on a somber note, but hopeful, ending a brilliant album with a song to say brillante.Hay Yourself or Someone Like You is a great debut album from a band that would go to bigger and better things . There are plenty of songs that are anthems Matchbox in later times this album, including two of the biggest hits of the band. Although there are some songs like I said before throwaway in the second half of the album, there are enough highlights scattered throughout the rest of the album to offset the burden of the entire album. It's nice to hear a full album of the 90s, the album does not mark a before and after of the decade, but would help to understand a little more for those fans of pop-rock and post-grunge.
Puntuación *8/10
Sergio Verdiell (SvS)
