Rhythm & Views

Matcli

It's no secret we're living in a modern world. When bands like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah can do with the Internet what countless one-hit wonders in the '90s couldn't do with hours of radio play--that is, sell records and remain relevant--you know that being signed to a label like Capitol Records matters less and less.

Matcli is another act spawned from the Internet music rage--hell, their Myspace page serves as their Web site--that is worth a listen. Like plenty of bands without a publicist or lengthy press releases, Matcli are good. Not Clap Your Hands good, but far from the underwhelming awfulness of Deadeye Dick.

Citing references as eye-rolling as U2 and as guilt-inducing as Jimmy Eat World, Matcli surprisingly make it stick. Particularly U2, whose influence is all over the group's eponymous EP. Over six tracks, the band cranks out sparkling pop tunes that gleam with guitars trained in the school of the Edge. (Lesson one: Get that keyboard sound from your fretboard.)

Nonetheless, this is catchy stuff from the ringing, anthem wash of "Prasoid" to the crunchy ferocity of "Dead Poet." Although some of the material is a bit MOR pop, the band is young enough to prove themselves a future force to reckon with--if the Web has anything to say about it.