Matchbook Romance returns with first new music in 20 years

A pop-punk band from Upstate New York is making a comeback.

Matchbook Romance announced Monday that a new song, “Something Worse Than the Night,” will be released on Friday, Jan. 16. It will be the group’s first new music in 20 years.

“New song ‘Something Worse Than the Night’ is yours Friday. Pre-save now,” the band’s Facebook page said, sharing a clip of the new song with nearly 70,000 followers. The video, also shared on Instagram, showed someone in a Superman costume looking at a Matchbook Romance “MR” logo on a grainy television.

Matchbook Romance is a pop-punk / alternative rock band from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., that rose to fame during the Warped Tour-MySpace era. Led by singer-guitarist Andrew Jordan and bassist-vocalist Ryan Kienle, they released two albums on Epitaph Records in the 2000s, most recently “Voices” in 2006.

The group formed in 1997, originally performing under the names Fizzlewink and The Getaway, before getting signed as Matchbook Romance in 2001. According to Epitaph, 18-year-old drummer Aaron Stern had just graduated from high school while other band members were attending community colleges in the Hudson Valley region.

“We never thought it was something that could actually come true for us,” said Jordan who was living at home and working as a waiter at a local restaurant at the time. “We had seen so many other bands try and reach for that place in the world only to fall short. We always thought, ‘What are our chances??’”

The group dropped impending college classes to focus on the band and released two albums, including 2003’s “Stories and Alibis,” plus two EPs including a 2004 split EP with Motion City Soundtrack. Popular MR songs include “Monsters,” which now has more than 50 million streams on Spotify, and early favorites like “Promise,” “My Eyes Burn”,” “Lovers & Liars” and “The Greatest Fall of All Time.”

Matchbook Romance, also featuring guitarist Ryan “Judas” DePaolo, appeared on the cover of Alternative Press magazine, played MTV Spring Break and headlined the Epitaph Tour, but quietly went on hiatus after 2006. The band played a handful of shows between 2013 and 2018, but started teasing a bigger reunion last month.

“Indefinitely,” the band wrote on Facebook in December with a photo of a microphone.

It’s unclear if Matchbook Romance will release a full-length album with the new song. No tour dates have been announced, but fans said they were pleasantly surprised by the new song announcement.

“AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!! Finally!!!! I am so excited!!!” one fan commented.

“Already running through a wall,” another said.

“OH MY GOSH. 16 YEAR OLD ME IS GOING TO BE HAPPY,” a third wrote.

“We have only been waiting like 20 years,” a fourth said.

Pop-punk, emo and alternative rock exploded in popularity during the 2000s, including in movies and TV shows like “The O.C.” The scene has seen a resurgence in recent years, with new music and tours from artists like Goldfinger, Good Charlotte, The Ataris, Hawthorne Heights, New Found Glory and The Cab.