22-10-2011, 12:10
shoegaze?
not sure exactly what that is, but I found myself doing that by the time I got to the last track, so I thought it would qualify
at least it was a relatively short album
included track was the only one where they stepped it up a little, and I liked it.
other than that, nothing I could get into
1.3
from the album - Future Shadows
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm9SFKmO758
released Oct 18th, 2011
![[Image: q68930ee32e.jpg]](http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drq600/q689/q68930ee32e.jpg)
from all music
Bio
The members of alternative folk-rock group Forest Fire are stationed in Brooklyn, New York and Portland, Oregon.
After releasing their first EP, Psychic Love Star, Mark Thresher, Nathan Delffs, Natalie Stormann, and Adam
Spittler issued Survival, their debut full-length, in 2008 via Catbird Records; the label's founder, music blogger
Ryan Catbird, downloaded the band's music on a whim and liked it so much he wanted to release it. For their second
album, 2011's Staring at the X, the foursome opted for a much more ambitious approach, incorporating everything
from Krautrock to Television-style punk into their sound.
Album Review
âMy heart is anew,â sings Forest Fire's Mark Thresher on Staring at the X, and so is the bandâs sound. Opening
track âBorn Intoâ shows just how much theyâve changed since the ramshackle yet heartfelt Americana of their first
album, Survival: itâs smoky and sleek, driven by a Velvet Underground-inspired chug that sounds much more like
their Brooklyn home base than anything theyâve done before. The changes donât stop there: âFuture Shadowsââ bright
pop and âThe Newsââ strutting rock -- which continues 2011âs reign as Year of the Saxophone with a squealing solo
-- are all a part of Forest Fire's breakneck (re)invention. It feels like theyâve channeled the looseness of their
playing on Survival into a willingness to try anything once, and fortunately, most of their experiments stick.
Indeed, one of Staring at the X's best moments is also the most radically different: âThey Pray Execution Styleâ
features bassist Natalie Stormann on vocals as the song morphs from slinky disco-punk into keyboard noodling. When
Forest Fire return to more familiar territory on the title track and âMtns Are Mtns,â they sound far more
polished, and perhaps a bit less distinctive, than they used to. The albumâs second half consists largely of back-
to-back slow songs that drag a bit, suggesting that they need to work on varying their pacing as much as their
sound. Nevertheless, Staring at the X shows just how much Forest Fire can do, and do well; where they go next is
anyoneâs guess.
Track Listing
1. Born Into
2. Future Shadows
3. The News
4. They Pray Execution Style
5. Staring at the X
6. Blank Appeal
7. Mtns Are Mtns
8. Visions in Plastic
not sure exactly what that is, but I found myself doing that by the time I got to the last track, so I thought it would qualify
at least it was a relatively short album
included track was the only one where they stepped it up a little, and I liked it.
other than that, nothing I could get into
1.3
from the album - Future Shadows
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm9SFKmO758
released Oct 18th, 2011
from all music
Bio
The members of alternative folk-rock group Forest Fire are stationed in Brooklyn, New York and Portland, Oregon.
After releasing their first EP, Psychic Love Star, Mark Thresher, Nathan Delffs, Natalie Stormann, and Adam
Spittler issued Survival, their debut full-length, in 2008 via Catbird Records; the label's founder, music blogger
Ryan Catbird, downloaded the band's music on a whim and liked it so much he wanted to release it. For their second
album, 2011's Staring at the X, the foursome opted for a much more ambitious approach, incorporating everything
from Krautrock to Television-style punk into their sound.
Album Review
âMy heart is anew,â sings Forest Fire's Mark Thresher on Staring at the X, and so is the bandâs sound. Opening
track âBorn Intoâ shows just how much theyâve changed since the ramshackle yet heartfelt Americana of their first
album, Survival: itâs smoky and sleek, driven by a Velvet Underground-inspired chug that sounds much more like
their Brooklyn home base than anything theyâve done before. The changes donât stop there: âFuture Shadowsââ bright
pop and âThe Newsââ strutting rock -- which continues 2011âs reign as Year of the Saxophone with a squealing solo
-- are all a part of Forest Fire's breakneck (re)invention. It feels like theyâve channeled the looseness of their
playing on Survival into a willingness to try anything once, and fortunately, most of their experiments stick.
Indeed, one of Staring at the X's best moments is also the most radically different: âThey Pray Execution Styleâ
features bassist Natalie Stormann on vocals as the song morphs from slinky disco-punk into keyboard noodling. When
Forest Fire return to more familiar territory on the title track and âMtns Are Mtns,â they sound far more
polished, and perhaps a bit less distinctive, than they used to. The albumâs second half consists largely of back-
to-back slow songs that drag a bit, suggesting that they need to work on varying their pacing as much as their
sound. Nevertheless, Staring at the X shows just how much Forest Fire can do, and do well; where they go next is
anyoneâs guess.
Track Listing
1. Born Into
2. Future Shadows
3. The News
4. They Pray Execution Style
5. Staring at the X
6. Blank Appeal
7. Mtns Are Mtns
8. Visions in Plastic