The Matches

An enigma is rare in the present state of predictable punk pop music, but A Band In Hope, the third release from Oakland quartet the Matches, will mystify.

Just as easily as he can change holiday costumes—duke one year and James Dean the next (“Between Halloweens”)—vocalist Shawn Harris slips between musical identities from a dead-ringer for Chris Carrabba to a channeler of Freddie Mercury. Though the Matches’ influences are eclectic and apparent, the album is seamless from track to track. Yes, shockingly, 90s ska revival-revival “If I Were You” and Andrew Lloyd Webber aspirant “Darkness Rising” are like peas and carrots.

The acoustic coming-of-age number “Clouds Crash” is succinct, pleasant, and a fast favorite. “Yankee in a Chip Shop,” a playful rally song about curing a hangover (“get greased to sober up”) while across the pond, is too. But along with the highs, according to “To Build A Mountain,” you also “gotta dig a hole.” One-liner “We Are One” and hot air “Point Me Toward the Morning” meet the low bar, which must make “Wake the Sun” and “Future Tense” rolling hills.

They are great actors, but it’s hard to put a finger on who the Matches are and whom this ageless, faceless, music without borders is for. A Band in Hope is mysterious, interest-peaking, and most importantly a call to action for a more distinguishing and less evocative follow-up release.