Matthew and The Hope
Burn It To The Ground
Self-Released
Street: 06.30
Matthew and The Hope = Live + Brent Dennen
Matthew and The Hope wasn’t my kind of jam. Matthew claims to sound like Joshua James or Ray LaMontague, but I see his vocal styles as akin to back-of-the-throat singers from neo-grunge (think Scott Stapp or Gavin Rossdale). That being said, Matthew Bashaw has solid vocal skills, but the man needs someone to back him up if he is going to pull off the alternative country sound. Musically, Matthew and The Hope is amazing for a band that has been together for under a year. I enjoyed all the instrumental breakdowns throughout the album, but the vocals pulled me out altogether. The strongest song on the album is “The Devil May Come.” It is lyrically cliché, but the killer breakdown two-thirds into the song totally redeems it. That song has some of best slide guitar I’ve heard from a local group in a while. They don’t have this album up online yet, so you’ll have to buy it at a show.