This isn't your little brother's emo band. With the all of the youthful energy of Yellowcard and the sophistication of Jimmy Eat World, Gratitude's self-titled debut marks the intersection of accessible, radio-friendly pop-punk with highly personal, idiosyncratic indie rock.
Gratitude's frontman, Jonah Matranga, earned his legitimacy as a musical artist with his post-hardcore bands Far and New End Original, and his now-defunct solo project Onelinedrawing. When Matranga united with friend and ex-Crumb-guitarist Mark Weinberg to create Gratitude in 2003, the pair set out to create what they have no shame labeling as pop music.
Gratitude's sound is definitely familiar-but that's not to say that it gets lost in the MTV after-hours shuffle. Matranga's characteristic earth-shattering wail, together with rhythms pounded out in thick guitar riffs, makes for a rock sound so big that it edges all the others out.
The album is less of an experiment in self-expression, and more of an exercise in finding the perfect, simple pop chorus, 12 times over. What do ambiguous choruses like, "Tonight let's celebrate it/ Love or hate it, it is ours/ Tonight, tonight, we really made it this far tonight" really mean? Your guess is as good as mine, but the fact is: It doesn't matter, because it sounds so good that you're singing along without even thinking about it.
The band's first single, "Drive Away," is by far the catchiest on the album. Don't be surprised to hear it blaring on car stereos this summer; we'll need a replacement for "Ocean Avenue," after all.
"Last" best encapsulates the power of Matranga's vocals, which are both rough and melodic at once. At the song's peaks, Matranga finds just the right balance between singing and screaming to pique his listeners' interest without scaring any of them away.
Like any good pop band should, Gratitude throws in a few melancholy power ballads like "The Greatest Wonder" and "Someone to Love" to slow down the album-and they pick up the speed again at crucial moments, with songs like "This Is the Part," to keep the album from deflating.
Of course, there's the inevitability of a few duds-of which Gratitude has very few. The album is solid overall. With their first major-label release, Gratitude has proven that they're anything but manufactured: They're just a group of seasoned musicians who got together one day and said, "Hey, let's make a pop album."
Whether they meant to or not, they've set the new standard; aspiring pop-rockers, take heed.
