like a one-way ticket ’cause you can’t come back
(or: july 5’s honey from the hive)
posted at 12:12 pm by brandon in sweet you rock and sweet you roll
Matchbox Twenty — “She’s So Mean” (from North
Knotted, tangled angst has always been this band’s money zone, and even their more lighthearted tunes — think “Unwell,” think “Real World” — mask an unmistakably dark, treacherous undercurrent rumbling beneath their vivid sing-along veneers. So what a surprising, oddly enjoyable treat to find Rob Thomas and the boys marking the fifteenth anniversary of their brilliant breakthrough (and previewing their forthcoming fifth album, due in September) with this carefree slice of sunny summer pop. (A little disheartening to understand that you’ve gotta beat La Bieber playing the game on his terms, but if this piffle gets Thomas back on pop radio during the dog days, I’ll take it.)
