Text by KralTunes @KralTunes
WOOHOO!! My first requested review! To be honest, it’s a little nerve-racking. What if it’s crap…what am I supposed to do then?! I mean, do I tell these people that they are wasting their time with this music endeavor and should find real, honest work, like dashing people’s dreams as a critic?!?!
Fortunately, I dodged that dilemma with the alternative pop band BROKEN FIRES’ most recent E.P., Out Of The Woods.
The title track energetically kicks off the E.P. with thumping bass and leads us into a story of unsure love:
Sometimes this girl needs a lead,
Someone to make a proposal,
I need to build us a plan.
The yang to the doubtful ying attempts to put fears to rest:
It’s just a momentary lapse,
So just take it on the chin.
I hope we’re out of the woods now, my dear.
Their restrained instrumentation coupled with an honest lyrical delivery injects new life into this tried and true topic.
Throughout the tracks, Broken Fires successfully creates a cathartic experience akin to Mumford and Sons and early Arcade Fire. If this band hits it big, “Vessels” will be one of those soaring anthems that the entire crowd sings along with during their encore:
“Now that your voice is a memory,
Let the flood take my body, out to the sea.
If I let the river grab hold of me,
You might love what’s lost and start re-loving me.”
“Brick.Mortar.Stone” may also be crowned a crowd favorite one day; it wraps up the release well in a rollicking swing and another booming, anthemic verse (of defiance this time), “No, I won’t go/I am tired and cold/ And he said no this is my home/ Every brick I have made my own.”
Look, are these cats gonna go out and set the world on fire?
Of course not, because that would be a crime…but they do have a strong foundation from which to build on with future releases. In the meantime, Broken Fires’ pleasant vocal melodies and musicianship has made for a good rainy Saturday morning soundtrack and an easy first request for this critic.
P.S.- The unreleased track “Charming” is just that..check it out on their website brokenfires.com
ATTENTION LONDONERS!! Check out BROKEN FIRES November 1 at THE WATER RATS, which is a pretty damn cool name for a club.
Tonight at Dawn 