Switches - Lay Down the Law

Genre power pop Publisher Interscope Records External Links Switches Website Switches MySpace

With more than 200 songs written by the time lead singer, Matt Bishop, was sixteen, you’d think that the songs that filled Switches’ second full-length album, Lay Down the Law would be fraught with sentimental angst and overused metaphors, but Lay Down the Law comes at you with all the power expected from the Brit-pop movement of today. Drawing on influences, David Bowie and Blur, Switches emerges from the pack of Brit-poppers and separate themselves from their harder-edged contemporaries by drawing on Glam Rock pioneer David Bowie’s use of slinky baritone, breathy falsetto and dead-on harmonies. Their vocal acrobatics are met with skilled musicianship to produce a collection of eleven tracks that deliver on the promise to entertain as illustrated through their cover art.

The first single off of the disc, “Drama Queen,” begins with an invitation to party with the Switches. “Load up the drugs / we’ll let the demons come in / bring all the kids / they won’t know where to begin” is chanted over an even tempoed and repetitive guitar rhythm which is interrupted by a burst of feedback that leads into a harmonized chorus on a higher register. The Blur-like “oohs” that the track begins with revive and the throbbing drum at the center of the track mirrors an escalating heartbeat as the song begs you to “turn up” and “tune in.” The boys in the band want to know if you have what it takes to be Queen in this “get-this party-going” set starter.

“The Need to Be Needed” rears off in the other direction as a plaintive love ballad. As the song spirals down from Matt’s high-note hitting vocal stretch to his main register, he sings about the broken girl he’s fallen in love with because of “The Need to Be Needed.” More is revealed about Maura the “beauty queen” as the track progresses and Matt’s tone becomes desperate and exasperated as he switches from praising Maura to admitting that he “feign[s] to listen patiently.” At the bridge, cascading vocals that build the track toward a conclusion are reminiscent of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” in their layering and intensity. The song comes full circle when Maura’s lover abandons her for a younger girl, the same way her father left her mother.

As promised, Switches mixes up Lay Down the Law from track to track while still maintaining their cohesiveness. The album pulses with an energy and a spontaneous “live recording” vibe that makes it difficult to have on as background music. With each listen, the tracks seem to reveal some new influence that catches you off-guard while simultaneously having memorable hooks that beg to be sung. With hundreds of songs already under their respective belts, many more brothels to rehearse next to, and their myriad of influences, the follow up to Lay Down the Law is sure to surpass even an amazing album like this one.