This is definitely one of the best albums I've purchased all year. And I've purchased a lot this year. I mean, this album was contending with the likes of Damien Rice's O, Doves' Some Cities, all three of Coldplay's albums, and other pretty good CDs (because I don't buy bad ones, haha). But Bain Mattox's Prizefighter could possibly even be one of the best albums of 2005, in my opionion.If you've never heard their first album, the self-titled Bain Mattox, you're missing out. But if you miss out on hearing this new one, well you might as well live under a rock. While it features the same unique instrumentation like banjo, accordion, mandolin, and acousitic guitars as the first album, Prizefighter has a much darker, heavier sound, that, at times, is reminiscent of Counting Crows, Coldplay, and even a little Red House Painters. It makes the band's maturation plainly obvious. And though Mattox has always proven himself to be quite the wordsmith, the lyrics are even more amazing and moving. You can really see, or rather hear, how much the band has grown over past couple years since their first album release. Well worth the money, I'd say.
And if you find them in a town near you, you owe it to yourself to go see them. A high energy performance is just what you need to really experience such great music. I love Bain Mattox. Going to see Mary Prankster (who never actually showed to the gig) the day after Christmas 2003 with Amy is one of the best things we've ever done on a whim. We got to see Bain, and former band member Count Kellam, the man who played the saw (oh, yeah, and Red Perspective ;) ).
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