Reviews

William Shakespeare once asked the question, “What’s in a name?” Jonah Matranga, Mark Weinberg and company answered back, Gratitude. Defined as, the state of being grateful; thankfulness.  If we were sitting around the Thanksgiving table, I’d probably asked Jonah what he’s most grateful for, and he’d probably give me some simple yet profound answer that would make me re-evaluate my life and everything in it. Chances are, we’ll never enjoy turkey dinner together, and so I’ll just say what I’m grateful for. This band.  
 
I find Gratitude to be a lesson in humility. There’s something beautiful happening here, something that brings together every walk of life, every aspect of rock music and pieces it all together into the most honest and genuine forty three minutes of sound that rock n’ roll has seen in so long. It’s all about singing along at the top of your lungs and blowing out the speakers in the car you drive around that happens to be older than you are.  
 
Some people might say “Drive Away” is going to be fed directly into the airwaves but I’m not so sure.  Up until this day, Jonah Matranga has been content with living small and I sincerely hope that he still maintains that feeling.  It’s not that I wouldn’t love for Gratitude to be successful; it’s just that music like this is precious and real, and it means something special to people.  But when it starts to get played in cheesy car commercials and reality TV backdrops, it loses that meaning and it would be really painful to see that happen here. Sure, these songs were meant to make people happy, but they were also meant to be important to those people. I guess he’s thought about that however, because on Gratitude’s website, he says “Songs ask for what they want, and they go where they want to go, and these were just songs that wanted to be recorded in a big, beautiful studio with people that have made classic records.”   
 
Don’t expect Onelinedrawing, because you won’t get it.  Think New End Original with much catchier hooks and beats and a heart of pure gold. “The Greatest Wonder” is a semi-ballad where Matranga, who starts to sound a little like Bono towards the end, displays his lyric writing talent with lines like “Whether for light or for ashes, we all burn for something,” and “You can’t save someone from death, but you can love them while they’re dying.” That’s the song that scored the repeat button, and the one that will be fed into my ears for weeks. “This Is the Part” is politically critical, but at the same time much more than that.  All the tracks from the band’s EP, “You’re Invited” are featured on the full length.  
 
Gratitude is unbridled and exceptional rock made by individuals who have spent their entire lives playing songs and waiting for the day when they’d find themselves in the center of the group that would change everything. I love this album for a lot of reasons.  One of those being the people talent that makes up Gratitude.  Another is that I can’t think of any reason not to.