Onelinedrawing is ostensibly a solo project for former
Far vocalist and leader Jonah Matranga. The acoustic leanings of the project coupled with his highly emotive subjects -- lead track "Um..." bitterly laments his divorce by softly intoning "I'm so sorry for my dreams," while "But It Was Close" presents anguished regret over a simple acoustic guitar -- will cause some to immediately think of
Dashboard Confessional. They wouldn't be that inaccurate either. A duo of more upbeat material -- the quirky, synth-augmented "Smile," which wouldn't be out of place on a
Posies platter, and the slightly more dynamic "Bitte Ein Kuss," which namechecks Carl Yastrzemski and coins the phrase "In the bed disco" as a euphemism for sex -- betray his indie-pop roots; but make no mistake,
Visitor is a mostly unplugged-sounding disc that fits into a coffeehouse far more complacently than a rock club. ~ Brian O'Neill