LP REVIEW
THE BEAUTIFUL MISTAKE "LIGHT A MATCH, FOR I DESERVE TO
BURN"
1.
ON BUILDING
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As new life glows from the ashes of their previous band
called (cough) Ember, Californian
rockers Josh Hagquist (vocals) and Shawn Grover (guitar)
pulled together The Beautiful Mistake in
early 2001. Following on from a self-released EP later that year, they
picked up a deal with The Militia Group - a hip independent label in
the States - and as a result have produced this their debut album “Light
A Match, For I Deserve To Burn”. There is no doubting that this band has created an album of quality emo. This is a blending of the raw harshness of hardcore, with the soft silkiness of melodic rock and with a liberal addition of bleeding emotion. Very much in the vain of Funeral For A Friend, BoysetsFire, Hundred Reasons, Thursday and Finch, they manage to cover the whole bittersweet experience with class and style. If there is a criticism, then maybe the sound is too similar throughout the album, which at times could do with lifting to avoid blandness and refocus your interest. But this isn’t a major hang-up as there is a certain amount of variety inbuilt into their style with the harsh backing vocals contrasting the almost angelically sung lead vocals. This has the effect of jolting your attention, as all of a sudden from the safety of melodic bliss you’re being yelled at. On the subject of vocals, the lyrics come across as being very personal and meaningful, often reflecting Christian values and having religious overtones. The personal nature of the songs work so well in the context of emo as the feelings haemorrhage from the vocals and the pain can almost be experienced. An album containing many gentle moments as well as harnessed aggression, contrasting vocals, expertly delivered lyrics, that sometimes sound a little poppy but are always wrapped in a hard rock overcoat. This is a nice debut from The Beautiful Mistake and shows a huge amount of maturity. They have created an album that’s a listening pleasure every time, and which continues to grow on you as well as impart real emotion to those that wish to absorb it. 8/10. Rigsby (8th August, 2003) |