1. Light of the Morning - this is the first song and probably the most well-known song on the album, if any of the songs could be classified as "well known". It's definitely a catchy song and does a good job of setting the table for the rest of the album. It sounds like it should be in a TV car commercial, which it is. Pontiac, maybe?
2. Death by Diamond and Pearls - So yeah, by this point, if you haven't picked up on a similarity between this band's sound and Jack White's various bands', you're not listening. It's not a blatant rip off or anything, but definitely present. Be it the vocal styles, the loose and gritty guitars or the prominent drum pounding, it's there.
3. I Know What I Am - Ok, a lot going on here. This song is sassy and while that's OK, this definitely sounds like a song that could get old fast. There's some female vocals entering the picture. None of these people sound British, but they are. The chorus has a very catchy hook and almost sounds disco-ish. Yeah, this song differs from the first two, but not necessarily in a good way.
4. Fires - Ah, so there's the album title in the first line of the song. Kinda strange name that might could have been improved upon. "If you bring the water, I'll bring the matches...'cause we are fires in the night." Not really sure what that means, but it sounds really great in that really great anthemic way. This song does that loud/soft juxtaposition more than any of the others so far and it works quite well. This is easily the best song on the album so far and will probably stay that way through the end.
5. Honest - Female lead vocals and a legitimate softer/slower song. This sorts sounds like a completely different band at this point. That is usually seen as a good thing, but it throws off cohesion a little. This song actually sounds like Marketa Irglova's songs with The Swell Season. That and somber singing girl songs in musicals...like Les Mis or something. It sounds like it's being sung by a girl alone in a garden (or maybe a fire escape), looking at the stars at night.
6. Patterns - More the sass. There's a weird counting thing going on that plays in the "pattern" theme of the song. The dance beats are automatically catchy, but it really does border on 1970s disco at times and that's just not very comforting.
7. Hollywood Bowl - Yeah, the disco-y thing is back and must just be a part of their sound. Since "Fires" has none of that and is easily the best song, maybe they could get away from that. This song has a lot of that "rock n roll lifestyle" element in it. Seems like a lot of innuendo and sleaziness going on. Those "hey"'s are surely quite a hit during a live performance. The end of the song takes on a sort of jazzy/bluesy sound and then rocks out, which is fairly redeeming. Might should have pulled that out sooner.
8. Bomb - A ticking clock starts this song because it's called "Bomb". Not very clever. The song isn't terribly clever either, but doesn't sound bad...except when the ticking clock returns. The album definitely has a lot of guitars in it, which is nice.
9. Impossible - Pretty unremarkable whining at the beginning, until it starts to sound like Queen, which is pretty fun. More nonsensical lyrics, though, like "I am a man 'cause you said I am...Yeah". Thankfully no disco beats on this one and some of those "textures" that seem to often be mentioned in album reviews.
10. Blood - Swampy blues that sounds like it should be on an episode of True Blood. The female vocals seem much more variant than the male vocals on this album. The male vocals just sound like a variation on Jack White all the way through, while the female mixes it up and can't quite be pegged as easily.
11. Dull Gold Heart - This sounds like it should be sung at the Ryman. The album is definitely all over the place, but the good moments outweigh the bad by far. If they can just stay away from the disco dance beat sass, they should be fine. If the whole album could sound like the conclusion of this song, this could be album of the year.
12. Cold Fame - Yes, the epic closer and it's quite epic, as debut albums go. Starts off with a smoky lounge singer thing, but then gets back to some of that "Fires" sound that works so well. More "clever" lyrics with "I know my place, but it don't know me". What does it actually mean for your place to not "know you"? It's a little disconcerting because of the repetition of what sounds like "Cocaine in my veins, it's OK because I know it's the best for me". Clearly, given the name of the song, "cocaine" and "cold fame" sounds too much alike. Regardless, the echoing harmonies work here quite well
Overall, a solid debut. Actually, more than solid. It's pretty good and shouldn't be something that grows stale quickly. That might be where the variety of the album comes in handy. If you like guitars, almost equal parts male/female vocals and almost a little too much sass, you could really like this album Even if you don't like the sass, there's more than enough to make this a worthwhile listen.
Ugh, you probably want a number to quantify this review, right? Well, you won't get tenth-of-a-point precision like on Pitchfork or a 100-point scale like on Paste. How about a 0-10 scale with half-point increments? Does that work?
Let's go with 8/10. Could have been higher.
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