The Matches

Exuberant Oakland pop-punk outfit the Matches put out their first record, the tongue-in-cheek-titled E. Von Dahl Killed the Locals, in 2003 and soon hooked up with Epitaph, who reissued the album in 2004. Their sophomore album, the more ambitious Decomposer, appeared in September 2006 and was recorded with nine producers having a hand in the project, including Bad Religion's Brett Gurewitz, Rancid's Tim Armstrong, blink-182's Mark Hoppus, Goldfinger's John Feldmann, and 311's Nick Hexum. After more extensive touring, in 2008 the group returned with a more heavily layered (and more uneven) record, A Band in Hope, described by Harris as "a pendulum's sway between hope and despair." ~ Corey Apar