thefire&iep2

SCOTLAND LIVE - BANDS TO WATCH!!

THE FIRE & I - Dark In The Shade CD Single


On the second (or the first depending on which way you look at it) of two EP's released at the same time, the band don't waste a second before surging right into the title track that opens the CD with a burst of buzz-saw guitars, thundering bass and crunching drums above which the vocalists veritably holler the chorus and ensuing verses with a flaring passion that creates a whirlwind in which you are inexorably carried along. Apart from one bit where it all drops back, the main body of the song is this rolllercoaster of verse -as-chorus that, for such a short song, hits the spot bang on. However, “Left And Right”, which follows, stands true to the traditional verse-hook-chorus structure, drives ahead with a vengeance, the electric bass right to the forefront in a “Song 2” Blur style as the surge of the guitar riffs and solid, pounding drumming, underpin and propel a song that's just stunning as the multi-tracked and lead vocals just cruise through the lyrics with conviction, the chorus flying high and the verses not far behind. That the song ends with a whimper than a bang, is both unexpected but somehow fitting. For all that, it's even more addictive than the title track and, despite the undoubted quality of all three tracks on here, stands out as the best. The EP ends on “Bullwings”, a more choppy number with lurching rhythms, that kind of indie-dance style intention as the dual, lead and multi-tracked vocals duel and fly, while the song's arrangement twists and turns amid a myriad of pounding bass, guitar riff undercurrents and more solid drumming, not as immediate as the previous two but no less satisfying. In what seems like a heartbeat, all three tracks are gone, but once tried, begs you to retry – and that brings even more reward on what is a shorter, sharper and bang on indie counterpart to its more varied, but no less impressive, partner.

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