12-11-2010, 13:04
a little too much frenzy for me overall
2 tracks I liked
Grade - 1.4
released Nov 9th, 2010
![[Image: o41570pljmh.jpg]](http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/dro400/o415/o41570pljmh.jpg)
from the album - Neon Light - grade 2.0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxtV0NtEkpg
Bio from all music
Smoke or Fire is an emo-tinged post-hardcore band that occasionally shades into rootsier material along the lines of Wilco or Marah. The band originally formed in Boston in 1998, when western Massachusetts natives Joe McMahan (lead vocals and guitar) and Jeremy Cochran (guitar) met New Hampshire boys Ken Gurley (bass) and Nick Maggiore (drums) as students at Boston University. Originally calling themselves Jericho, the quartet released their debut album, When the Battery Dies, in 2000. Bailing out of the cramped and wicked-expensive city of Boston upon graduation, the quartet resettled in the mellower confines of Richmond, VA, and began work on their second album. When a long inactive Christian rock band from Australia, also called Jericho, complained about the young whippersnappers usurping their name, the boys politely amended it to Jericho RVA for the 2003 EP Worker's Union. Their press kit claims that at this point, the band ran into problems with a hostile band of conservative Christians over their new name, though it seems just as likely that they recognized its general lameness. Changing their name yet again to Smoke or Fire, the quartet signed to the Fat Wreck Chords label and released 2005's Above the City, produced by label head Fat Mike. After extensive touring in support of Above the City, Maggiore left the band for family reasons. He was replaced by ex-From Ashes Rise drummer David Atchison just prior to the sessions for their third full-length, produced by Chicago indie rock mainstay Matt Allison. The resulting This Sinking Ship appeared in February 2007.
Album Review from dying scene
For those who donât know anything about Smoke or Fire, let me give you a quick history. The band was formed back in 1998 and were originally called Jericho. In 2000 a Christian band contacted them claiming they held the rights to the band name. So, in order to avoid any legal action this Jericho became known as Jericho RVA (a reference to the place the band called home, Richmond, Virginia) and held that name until 2003 when it was changed again and they became known as Smoke or Fire. Some Christian fanatics claimed it was blasphemy for a non-religious band to use the name Jericho (I wonder if they had a problem with CBS and itâs long ago cancelled television series of the same name). They signed to Fat Wreck Chords and released their first Cd as Smoke or Fire in 2005 titled âAbove the Cityâ.
It was about that time when I first came to know of this bandâs existence. A friend of mine had picked up the âAbove the Cityâ Cd and suggested that I check it out. I never got around to it and it wasnât until two years later, after hearing âThe Patty Hearst Syndromeâ on the radio that I actually heard the band at all. I hopped on iTunes and downloaded most of their songs and have enjoyed them ever since.
That leads us to the new release âThe Speakeasyâ.
Iâve had a little over a week to get into this album before turning in the review and to be honest; Iâve gone back and forth about how I would rate it (3 or 4 stars). After my fifth straight through listen (and hearing the disc as part of a mix) I chose to give it a 4. Itâs a good album but just how good? At first I wasnât sure.
Iâm gonna start with the positives. From the start, this album grabs the listener; âIntegrityâ, the opener, is a great song, itâs upbeat, urgent and in your face. The next track, âMonster among usâ, a song about greed, changes up the music a little bit adding acoustic guitars to the chorus and the third song â1968â (one of my favorites) is just as good. Itâs one of several political songs on the album and asks if you think that America has improved since 1968 (the year that Martin Luther King Jr. died). The fast tempo continues (other than the acoustic chorus on âNeon Lightâ) and we finally get a chance to catch our breath on track seven, a folk punk song titled âHoney, I Was Right About The Warâ. Folk punk is really nothing new these days, Mark Lind, of the Ducky Boys, Frank Turner of Million Dead and Tim Barry, of Avail (among others) have made solo careers out of it but Smoke or Fire do a great job with the genre on this track. From there the Cd returns to the fast, mostly political music that was all over the first half of the disc. The exception being song number ten, âExpatriateâ which, to me, almost sounds like a song that the Refused left off of their âShape of Punk to Comeâ Cd.
Itâs a very good disc, so why was I not sure about how many stars to give it? The simple answer is⦠the vocals. There is nothing wrong with Joe McMahonâs singing voice, but I feel he needs to change it up a bit more. His vocal is unique and once you hear him a few times you will always recognize him, which is both a blessing and a curse. The music on âThe Speakeasyâ is great, the additions of Gwomper (from Avail) on bass and Ryan Parrish (from Darkest Hour, a band that sounds NOTHING like this one) on drums were perfect, but to me the vocals drag the disc down a little bit. Every song on this Cd is damn near perfect, on its own. The problem comes when you listen to the whole disc in one sitting; many of the songs then start to sound the same. Iâve found I enjoy these tracks the most if I listen to 3 or 4 at a time or put it in a mix with a few other Cdâs.
So, to anyone that has liked Smoke or Fire in the past I definitely recommend that you pick up âThe Speakeasyâ it is by far my favorite release by them. And to the rest of you, if you are into straight up, no frills punk rock with a touch of southern influence I also suggest you also check out this album, but you might not want to listen to it straight through very often.
Track Listing
1 Integrity McMahon, Smoke or Fire 2:14
2 Monsters Among Us McMahon, Smoke or Fire 3:09
3 1968 McMahon, Smoke or Fire 2:52
4 Sleepwalking McMahon, Smoke or Fire 2:54
5 Neon Light McMahon, Smoke or Fire 3:29
6 Hope & Anchor McMahon, Smoke or Fire 2:08
7 Honey I Was Right About the War McMahon, Smoke or Fire 2:01
8 Porch Wine McMahon, Smoke or Fire 2:19
9 Everything Falls Apart McMahon, Smoke or Fire 2:39
10 Expatriate McMahon, Smoke or Fire 3:08
11 The Speakeasy McMahon, Smoke or Fire 2:06
12 Shotgun McMahon, Smoke or Fire 2:26
13 Utah McMahon, Smoke or Fire 2:21
2 tracks I liked
Grade - 1.4
released Nov 9th, 2010
from the album - Neon Light - grade 2.0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxtV0NtEkpg
Bio from all music
Smoke or Fire is an emo-tinged post-hardcore band that occasionally shades into rootsier material along the lines of Wilco or Marah. The band originally formed in Boston in 1998, when western Massachusetts natives Joe McMahan (lead vocals and guitar) and Jeremy Cochran (guitar) met New Hampshire boys Ken Gurley (bass) and Nick Maggiore (drums) as students at Boston University. Originally calling themselves Jericho, the quartet released their debut album, When the Battery Dies, in 2000. Bailing out of the cramped and wicked-expensive city of Boston upon graduation, the quartet resettled in the mellower confines of Richmond, VA, and began work on their second album. When a long inactive Christian rock band from Australia, also called Jericho, complained about the young whippersnappers usurping their name, the boys politely amended it to Jericho RVA for the 2003 EP Worker's Union. Their press kit claims that at this point, the band ran into problems with a hostile band of conservative Christians over their new name, though it seems just as likely that they recognized its general lameness. Changing their name yet again to Smoke or Fire, the quartet signed to the Fat Wreck Chords label and released 2005's Above the City, produced by label head Fat Mike. After extensive touring in support of Above the City, Maggiore left the band for family reasons. He was replaced by ex-From Ashes Rise drummer David Atchison just prior to the sessions for their third full-length, produced by Chicago indie rock mainstay Matt Allison. The resulting This Sinking Ship appeared in February 2007.
Album Review from dying scene
For those who donât know anything about Smoke or Fire, let me give you a quick history. The band was formed back in 1998 and were originally called Jericho. In 2000 a Christian band contacted them claiming they held the rights to the band name. So, in order to avoid any legal action this Jericho became known as Jericho RVA (a reference to the place the band called home, Richmond, Virginia) and held that name until 2003 when it was changed again and they became known as Smoke or Fire. Some Christian fanatics claimed it was blasphemy for a non-religious band to use the name Jericho (I wonder if they had a problem with CBS and itâs long ago cancelled television series of the same name). They signed to Fat Wreck Chords and released their first Cd as Smoke or Fire in 2005 titled âAbove the Cityâ.
It was about that time when I first came to know of this bandâs existence. A friend of mine had picked up the âAbove the Cityâ Cd and suggested that I check it out. I never got around to it and it wasnât until two years later, after hearing âThe Patty Hearst Syndromeâ on the radio that I actually heard the band at all. I hopped on iTunes and downloaded most of their songs and have enjoyed them ever since.
That leads us to the new release âThe Speakeasyâ.
Iâve had a little over a week to get into this album before turning in the review and to be honest; Iâve gone back and forth about how I would rate it (3 or 4 stars). After my fifth straight through listen (and hearing the disc as part of a mix) I chose to give it a 4. Itâs a good album but just how good? At first I wasnât sure.
Iâm gonna start with the positives. From the start, this album grabs the listener; âIntegrityâ, the opener, is a great song, itâs upbeat, urgent and in your face. The next track, âMonster among usâ, a song about greed, changes up the music a little bit adding acoustic guitars to the chorus and the third song â1968â (one of my favorites) is just as good. Itâs one of several political songs on the album and asks if you think that America has improved since 1968 (the year that Martin Luther King Jr. died). The fast tempo continues (other than the acoustic chorus on âNeon Lightâ) and we finally get a chance to catch our breath on track seven, a folk punk song titled âHoney, I Was Right About The Warâ. Folk punk is really nothing new these days, Mark Lind, of the Ducky Boys, Frank Turner of Million Dead and Tim Barry, of Avail (among others) have made solo careers out of it but Smoke or Fire do a great job with the genre on this track. From there the Cd returns to the fast, mostly political music that was all over the first half of the disc. The exception being song number ten, âExpatriateâ which, to me, almost sounds like a song that the Refused left off of their âShape of Punk to Comeâ Cd.
Itâs a very good disc, so why was I not sure about how many stars to give it? The simple answer is⦠the vocals. There is nothing wrong with Joe McMahonâs singing voice, but I feel he needs to change it up a bit more. His vocal is unique and once you hear him a few times you will always recognize him, which is both a blessing and a curse. The music on âThe Speakeasyâ is great, the additions of Gwomper (from Avail) on bass and Ryan Parrish (from Darkest Hour, a band that sounds NOTHING like this one) on drums were perfect, but to me the vocals drag the disc down a little bit. Every song on this Cd is damn near perfect, on its own. The problem comes when you listen to the whole disc in one sitting; many of the songs then start to sound the same. Iâve found I enjoy these tracks the most if I listen to 3 or 4 at a time or put it in a mix with a few other Cdâs.
So, to anyone that has liked Smoke or Fire in the past I definitely recommend that you pick up âThe Speakeasyâ it is by far my favorite release by them. And to the rest of you, if you are into straight up, no frills punk rock with a touch of southern influence I also suggest you also check out this album, but you might not want to listen to it straight through very often.
Track Listing
1 Integrity McMahon, Smoke or Fire 2:14
2 Monsters Among Us McMahon, Smoke or Fire 3:09
3 1968 McMahon, Smoke or Fire 2:52
4 Sleepwalking McMahon, Smoke or Fire 2:54
5 Neon Light McMahon, Smoke or Fire 3:29
6 Hope & Anchor McMahon, Smoke or Fire 2:08
7 Honey I Was Right About the War McMahon, Smoke or Fire 2:01
8 Porch Wine McMahon, Smoke or Fire 2:19
9 Everything Falls Apart McMahon, Smoke or Fire 2:39
10 Expatriate McMahon, Smoke or Fire 3:08
11 The Speakeasy McMahon, Smoke or Fire 2:06
12 Shotgun McMahon, Smoke or Fire 2:26
13 Utah McMahon, Smoke or Fire 2:21