This came out in 2003 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Most punk bands would probably be horrified if the head of their label wanted to produce their debut EP. But when you’re Matchbook Romance — and said honcho is Bad Religion guitarist and Epitaph Records founder Brett Gurewitz — you know you’re doing something right.
And in Gurewitz’s capable hands, this Poughkeepsie, N.Y., emocore quartet does virtually everything right on the five-track West for Wishing. Although slightly reminiscent of the searing, soaring emo of Get Up Kids, Matchbook quickly distinguish themselves with distinctive vocal interplay — one guitarist works the melodies while the other screams like a torture victim — along with wickedly tight arrangements built upon intricate drumming, and guitar lines that strike a near-perfect balance between buzzsaw riffs and mellower arpeggios. No wonder Gurewitz was fired up.
