Forest Fire – Staring at the X (2011)

...Nije bas toliko magican kao prvi, ali odlican za pozeleti otici u sumu
i sesti pored pucketave vatre...


Forest Fire’s sophomore record – and first for FatCat – finds the New York foursome taking an electrifying leap forward from the “cosmic americana” of the lauded debut, ‘Survival’ (named top ten album’s by Rough Trade shops, and album of the year by La Blogotheque, among others.)
For ‘Staring at the X’, Forest Fire renew their debut’s focus on instant-classic hooks and lyrics that have earned them favorable comparisons with contemporaries like tour mates Phosphorescent or The Walkmen, but bring a new complexity to their sound – from swaggering guitar-led breakdowns that borrow from NYC forebears Television and Velvet Underground to the darkly insistent pop of British new wavers like Psychedelic Furs or Cocteau Twins to heavy, almost-worthy space-outs.

 

The album starts with Born Into, with droning, reverb soaked, music and deep but perfectly placed vocals. As soon as the drums kick in the electronic noises power over the top, but still leaves you with the droning guitar, which only gets louder as the track gets on. As a fan of loud drone-y music, this was a pretty successful way of making me want to hear the rest. Future Shadows is a bit less noisy than the first track, but still detailed with keyboards low in the mix, a slow organ like sound and a heavily delayed guitar running over. The vocals drive the tracks forward well, with nice up beat lyrics sang in a fairly depressing manner. The News is fairly similar to the last track, however it does seem to add more instrumentation (I think it’s a Saxophone solo, I’m prepared to be attacked by someone more knowledgeable though). They Pray Execution Style starts with some very quiet female vocals, and progresses into a very interesting song, with funky basslines and great electronics adding depth to the song.
Starting At The X is the most simple song on the album; acoustic guitar running through a tremolo with a bit of slide guitar over the top and strong vocals. Blank Appeal goes back to the depth of the other songs on the album, massively enjoyable to listen to, with more layers than I can count. The guitars fizz their way through, while the simple drums hold it together, and the vocals add a rich sound to the top. Mtns are Mtns and Visions In Plastic mean that the album finishes in a less noisy way than it started. They’re massively relaxing to listen to, and show of the technical musicianship involved.
Even as a five piece, I still find it amazing just how much noise can be made by Forest Fire, at times it’s very precise and smooth, and then suddenly it can sound like an audible apocalypse.