Album Review : "Now Is What Matters Now", by Gameface (EU march 21st, Equal Vision Records)

Gameface, as an active band, may have gone off the radar for a while, but there’s no way that I’d forgotten about them.  The rising tension when they announced a couple of re-appearances some time ago was living proof of that.  Tension that evolved into the appropriate level of euphoria recently, with the airing of the new single ‘Come On Down’, also opening song of the new album.  And you probably can’t even begin to imagine the feeling I got when they got added to this year’s Groezrock line up.  More than enough reason to talk about that new album, is what I thought!

All those who liked or loved Gameface’s previous albums, must have been over the moon after hearing ‘Come On Down’ for like, fifteen seconds.  Because it’s crammed with divine melodies and rhythms by Trout, Julian and Sanderson, supporting Jeff Caudill’s lovely vocal timbre which is irreplacable, and creates that trademark Gameface-sound.  Equally stunning, is the band’s team-effort to reach that typical sensation that comes off almost every Gameface song.  For instance, take the time to listen carefully to bass, guitars and drums on ‘Regular Size’, and realize how each instrument perfectly contributes to the lovely melody carrying that song.  And you’ll find several songs like that on the album.

There is also that one song, with another feel to it, being a raw, fast, stomper of a punkrock song.  Caudill is actually angry it seems, also reflected in the lyrics, and he sings it in an angry way, even furious maybe...  I’m going to give the song some time to grow on me, but for now, ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ is my least favorite track.

There are a few songs, like the aforementioned one, in which the band, or Caudill at least, takes a clear stand on a given subject.  Another fine example is ‘Save Your Words’, with Jeff addressing the kind of people, sadly enough omnipresent these days, that criticize anything and everything from behind their computerscreens.

“I’ve got opinions, on opinions, but I keep these things to myself.”

“Save. Your. Words.”

If you ask me, indeed one the most irritating consequences of how easy it has become to comment online and almost anonymously, on various fora, ‘news’websites and all kinds of social media.  Today’s youngsters seem to be able to just shrug their shoulders and say ‘yeah...whatever dude...’.  But I presume that all of you who, like myself, grew up in the ‘offline’ 80’s and 90’s of the previous century, can relate to Jeff Caudill’s point of view.

But the overall feel of the album however, is one of a band that, musically and lyrically, sees eye to eye.  A band that has come clean with itself, and with each other.  A band also, that wants to convey a message, without forcing it down our throats, but more as a guiding line for us, and for themselves.  Because in almost every song you’ll find something, a little or a lot, that can be traced back to one of the most condensed and significant album titles I’ve come across : ‘Now Is What Matters Now’.  The following snippets of lyrical beauty have been stuck in my head for a couple of days now :

‘Come On Down’

“Learn to laugh, look back, let go, stay young, stay beautiful...”

‘Now’

“I’ve never noticed until now, how the landscape changes, and every day erases.”

“Every step that you put down, it doesn’t matter now, it doesn’t matter now...”

‘Regular Size’

“And we disappear, a little more every year.”

“Harder to recognize, moving towards the horizon line.”

“Perspective, where we want to be.”

“Reflective, what we want to see.”

“People get small, and get lost in space.”

“And we lose focus, as they move away, everyday.”

“I want to stay here by your side, at regular size.”

This, ladies and gentlemen, is what EMO music used to be about, and what it should always be about.  Lyrics of a breathtaking beauty, by a truly gifted poet, expressing his EMOtions, thoughts and feelings in a heartfelt and passionate way, over layers of lovely melodies, showing off some great musicianship.  As opposed to your average horrible metal-core mayhem, fronted by yet another  hair-dyeing, cap-wearing, neck- and/or facial tattoo-sporting douchebag, screaming the shit out of his lungs about suicide, murder, and the end of the world...

Now go and listen to this record, let the songs grow on you, and come back to thank me later...