The art of Matchless emanates from its deft sense of balance. Gorging audience ears with intense, self-referential rock soundscapes, this Seattle quartet excels by instinctively modulating the emotional and dynamic tenor of each performance; high-powered, guitar-driven tunes laden with barks of fierce distortion fade into pensive, soothing, vocally based numbers before the band heads purposefully back to loudness.
Matchless
the Breakroom, Saturday, January 16
“We pay attention to the set list and how the songs sound next to each other,” says Matchless guitarist Kevin Bishop. “We develop a set through practice. I think people appreciate that.”
The person who casually midwifed Matchless’ birth, Fiia McGann (bassist for Seattle bands Goodness and Miracle Baby), hints at this balance when describing the band’s power: “They’ve got all the bases covered—I mean, they’ve got the high, they’ve got the low, they’ve got the mid, they’ve got the groove . . . “
Lest anyone forget that a body-moving beat is at the heart of the Matchless appeal, she adds, “The rhythm section is very strong. It makes you want to move your ass.”
Matchless formed in 1997 from two discrete units. Bassist Molly K. and drummer Kat Carlisle had worked together in the locally popular trio 66 Saints. When that band broke up, K. and Carlisle continued playing music together and looking for other musicians to join them. At the same time, Bishop and another guitarist, Stuart McAteer, became convinced that they had written enough original material to perform before an audience.
The spark of introduction flared after the gregarious McAteer, then working as a barkeep at the Capitol Hill pool hall the Garage, told McGann that he and Bishop were seeking rhythm players. Carlisle, renowned for her drumming’s rich musicality, had played in an early version of Miracle Baby, and McGann suggested to McAteer that he get in touch with her and K.
This Brady Bunchlike combo hit it off immediately. “Within about five or 10 minutes we were playing songs,” McAteer recalls.
The band recorded a four-song EP in April 1997 before it’d ever played out. Never formally released or dispatched for review, these embryonic compositions nonetheless exhibit the Matchless aesthetic in full bloom. The opening track, “Stellar,” remains in the band’s live shows today.
A year after their first recording sessions, the foursome returned to the studio, putting together On the Surface and in the Deep. This five-song record explores the luxurious tension in the pairing of K.’s urgent, forthright vocals with McAteer’s self-assured crooning. Woven deep and tight throughout On the Surface are each band member’s instrumental gifts. Carlisle’s trenchant drumming expands in every direction from mere timekeeping, as McAteer and Bishop sound out intricately affecting textures on the high end, and K.’s trenchant, fluid bass lines prowl both melodic and rhythmic structures.
In conversation, the members of Matchless convey an extraordinary sense of intraband friendship. While the group has acquired a devoted local following, K. is quick to point out that the four continue playing music out of their love for performing and their joy at being together. “I feel lucky—no, not lucky—blessed, like gifted, to be able to be playing music with [these] guys, because of what this is doing for my life, and my soul, and my spirit, and my relationships.”
“We’re stuck on each other no matter what,” adds Carlisle.
