Artist: onelinedrawing
Album: The Volunteers
Label: Jade Tree
Tracks: 11

Within certain scenes, certain names can be mentioned, and those names bring about praise and admiration from all.  Names like Ian, Civ, Joey, and Porcell can bring about the memories of their bands and how they sometime become bigger than life. I would have to throw another name into the ring of the underground god's.  Jonah Matranga. 

Jonah has been a cornerstone within the whole indie rock scene and has been producing amazing and groundbreaking art for many years now. I am a very big admirer of his work.  I loved his first band Far. They were amazing and unlike anything I had ever listened to.  After Far, Jonah went onto to other projects such as The New End Originals and onelinedrawing.  I am a huge fan of both bands and his talent shines in both.

"The Volunteers" is onelinedrawing's second release on Jade Tree ,and their second full length album. This band has released three other EP's and three other split EP's.

"The Volunteers" is a great mix of progression and a fist full of roots.  Jonah doesn't miss a beat with this album and he continues to impress me. With honest and heartfelt lyrics and a haunting but comforting voice, he dominates any and all peers.  Acoustic ballads and electric pop sensibility bridge the gaps where his contemporaries fail.  This is by far his best effort since Far.  Far was just so ground breaking in my mind that I don't think it can be compared, but "The Volunteers" sets a new bar that I don't think many will be able to reach. "Superhero" and "Stay" are by far two of the best onelinedrawing songs I have ever heard.

This is one of the best albums I have heard this year.  If you aren't sure about Jonah and his work, maybe look into his older work and move forward to understand the full appreciation and progression he has shown for his artwork. This would be those who are into anything from Bjork to Pedro the Lion to Dashboard Confessional to TV on the Radio to Far (duh) to Death Cab For Cutie to Farside.