Stereogum Home

 

November 16, 2007

Band To Watch: Fire On Fire

Fire On Fire, a super Portland, Maine quintet featuring ex members of Cerberus Shoal, wail on their acoustic instruments -- stand-up bass, mandolin, banjo, harmonium, accordion, guitar, tamboritza, jembe, dobro, etc -- and harmonize like nobody's business. They all live in the same house, which has seemingly forged them into one seamless brimstoned, rural-gospel choir rattling out some of the prettiest harmonies this side of Young God labelmates, Akron/Family, only more countrified. Our favorite tune from the band's debut five-song EP is its opener "Hangman," which gathers momentum on a strange Animal Collective-in-a-hay-field vocal pulse. Please accept it as the official Fire On Fire intro sermon after the jump. And keep in mind: Everyone, even the worst man, has friends.

Fire On Fire - "Hangman" (MP3)

That warble really is so great and knotty. The group has a transcendent pulse to 'em -- sounds cheesy, but take a look at a back-porch rendition of "Amnesia," and notice how it all sorta crackles and waves? Right, like fire.

The 5-song EP, hand-screened heavy stock/velum packaging in a limited edition of 1,000, is only available at the Young God site and at the band's live show. Look for their debut full-length of all new material to show up on Young God sometime next year.

Posted at 5:36 PM in ,
Tags:




8 Comments

Not a bad song until they started singing.

Posted by: Elliot at 11/16/07 9:51 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Go Fire on Fire!

It's cool to see a band from my hometown (South Portland) being covered on a national blog.

You know Chris of FoF is friends with Marissa Nadler and Larkin Grimm? Not a big surprise.

Posted by: Dylan at 11/17/07 10:31 AM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Wow, those guys look edgy...edgy in the way wheatgrass is edgy. Didn't really like the music so much, but those are really cool chairs.

Posted by: Mikey Likes It at 11/17/07 7:32 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Maine is a cultural vacuum.

Posted by: Ben at 11/18/07 4:53 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

A not-that-well-written (by me) review of their very good EP. Don't miss them live if/when you get the chance (it'll be a few months, at least).
http://thephoenix.com/article_ektid48610.aspx

Posted by: Chris at 11/19/07 9:27 AM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

best band in portland maine is Cult Maze. hands down.

Posted by: tom at 11/19/07 12:37 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

haha... cult maze...

Posted by: cultural vacuum at 11/19/07 2:08 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

I saw a good band called An Evening With open for Magnolia Electric Company. Diamond Sharp rules too.
Maine music scene is kicking. Don't forget Ray Lamontagne!

Posted by: Megan T at 01/08/08 4:12 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Leave a comment


Staff

  • Founder/Editor-In-Chief: Scott Lapatine
  • Executive Editor: Amrit Singh
  • Senior Writer: Brandon Stosuy

Info

Contact

Get Flash to see our mp3 player. Here are our mp3s: Jonathan Boulet - A Community Service Announcement (The Album Leaf Remix) (»)
El Guincho - Antillas (XXXchange remix) (»)
El Guincho - Antillas (»)
Wolf People - October Fires (»)
Fan Death - Cannibal (»)
Fan Death - Reunited (CCENTURIESS Remix) (»)
Chll Pll - Dick Moves (»)
Chll Pll - Pass Out (»)
Beck - Harry Partch (»)
Tim Cohen - Haunted Hymns (»)
Tim Cohen - Take Aim Goliath (»)
Ducktails - Sandglider (»)
tUnE-YaRdS - Hatari (Drunkenmonkey Remix) (»)
tUnE-YaRdS - Hatari (Karn Remix) (»)
Beach House - Norway (»)
The Golden Filter - Thunderbird (»)
Crystal Antlers - It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (Bob Dylan Cover) (»)
CFCF - How Bizarre (OMC Cover) (»)
The Acorn - Strange Animal (Gowan Cover) (»)
Black Tambourine - Black Car (»)
Boyracer - Sunshine And Violence (»)
Henry's Dress - 1620 (»)
Honeybunch - Mine Your Own Business (»)
Lilys - Claire Hates Me (»)
Lilys - February Fourteenth (»)
Lorelei - Today's Shrug (»)
Sleepyhead - Different Colored Letters (»)
Small Factory - Merry-Go-Round (»)
Swirlies - Sarah Sitting (»)
The Ropers - Waiting (»)
Velocity Girl - My Forgotten Favorite (»)
Monsters Of Folk - Say Please (»)
Rain Machine - Give Blood (»)
Wetdog - Tidy Up Your Bedroom (»)
Beck - Little Hands (Feat. Feist, Wilco And Jamie Lidell) (»)
Brendan Benson - Feel Like Taking You Home (»)
Yeasayer - Ambling Alp (Memory Tapes Remix) (»)
Solange - Stillness Is The Move (Dirty Projectors Cover) (»)
Pearl Harbor - California Shakedown (»)
LoneLady - Immaterial (»)
Andrew Cedermark - Hard Livin' (»)
Family Portrait - Super Cool (»)
The Soft Pack - Answer To Yourself (»)
Bear In Heaven - Dust Cloud (»)
Bear In Heaven - Lovesick Teenagers (»)
Atlas Sound - Doctor (Five Discs Cover) (»)
Atlas Sound - The Screens (»)
Cloud Nothings - Hey Cool Kid (»)
The Mary Onettes - Dare (»)
The Mary Onettes - Puzzles (»)
Digital Leather - Photo Lie (»)
Memory Tapes - Easy Pert Mom (»)
Memory Tapes - Graphics (Sci-Fi Edit) (»)

Progress Report logo
Commercial Appeal logo
Premature Evaluation logo
Band to Watch logo
Quit Your Day Job logo
The Outsiders logo
The 'Gum Drop logo