I’ve previously written about Fortune Favours the Brave, a free single from this album which was released last September, describing it as an uplifting and earworm-hooky piece of indie-pop that should’ve been a dancefloor hit. I’ve rarely got the patience for clubs these days so I don’t know how accurate that prediction turned out to be, but I stand by my thoughts on the song as it’s still irrepressibly cheery and addictive.
Strike a Match opens with ‘Coffee Shop’, which hits a lot of the same notes as the aforementioned single. It’s catchy and chirpy with an honest tinge of struggle and limitation; the lines “the city’s mine to explore, but then it ends and I want more” highlight the lyrical motif of aimless exploration, of wandering and wondering and observing the city one calls home. It’s a great opener, and that it’s followed by ‘Fortune’ gives the album a strong start. Unfortunately it’s a pace the album struggles to hold consistently.
The band step into different territory with the post-punky ‘Red Thread’, its verses composed of fast, tight drums and simple guitar licks with the riffs in the choruses standing at odds with the vocal pace. It’s grown a little on me since I first heard it but I can’t help feeling that there’s something about it which just doesn’t quite work.
‘Need to Run’ brings us back to the immediate, catchy pop, with vocals from guitarist Mikey Morrison complementing those of drummer Sarah Tanat-Jones. It’s Sarah who, for me, invests Come On Gang’s music with the most impact – throwing a lot of heart into those dance-rock melodies – but the joint lead vocals work nicely here. With ‘Wheels’ we’re back to just Sarah, but unfortunately the simple rhythm and trembling, buzzing melodies of this song are enough to occasionally mask her usually crystal-clear vocals. The song itself is not bad but smacks of filler; it’s short on hooks – though it does boast a few nicely understated moments – overall outstaying its welcome with a length of over four minutes.
Ennui is beginning to set in with ‘This Familiar Road’ and ‘Fan the Flame’, which again are decent tunes with solid pop sensibilities and clear efforts to vary up the album’s sound, but pale in comparison to Come On Gang’s finest moments. There’s a sense that the best has come and gone by this point but fortunately this is where ‘To the Morning’ kicks in with a chirpy, cheeky rhythm that’s well-matched to the light-hearted lyrics, which offer a philosophical and pragmatic response to potentially painful breakup experiences. ‘Santa Maria’ has a crack at exploring some new territory with a mid-pace reverb- and delay-heavy sound that unexpectedly evokes classic 80s British goth bands.
The album’s then closed out by ‘Spinning Room’, with lyrics that I’m not keen on but which are carried by simple fast-paced instrumentation and a typically fine vocal line, and ‘Start the Sound’, a mellow, soft and sweet outro that’s the most significant change in pace and approach throughout the whole record, and stands out all the more for that.
Alas, the launch party for this record back in February was also the band’s last show, with the band’s members heading off to do other things. It’s a shame not only because I’ll never get to sample the band live but also because I suspect Come On Gang! had at least a few more hits in them. Strike a Match is a respectable last hurrah, however; it may be inconsistent, but when it lands a blow your feet and heart will feel the impact and an urge to respond.