THE FIRE THEFT

The Fire Theft is one of those interesting Prog-related tales, though not all that surprising. Membership of guitarist-vocalist-frontman Jeremy Enigk, bassist Nate Mendel, and drummer William Goldsmith is likewise rooted in Alt-Emo darlings ('darlings' for good reason) Sunny Day Real Estate. Adding to the interest is the membership of Mendel (long-term and to present) and Goldsmith (fairly briefly, though considered a founding member) to Foo Fighters. As a fan of Alt Rock at large and Emo specifically (which really started blending with Alternative music stylistically around the mid-90s), I highly recommend exploring Sunny Day's catalog; over the course of just 6 years, the impact that their four albums had is immeasurable. It's been quite a while, but learning this latterday band was on PA, I just had to give it another whirl! And to think The Fire Theft, their sole album released in '03, came out just in time for this site!

The album begins with "Uncle Mountain". Here a wash of sparse, echoing rim hits and spacy, reverb-soaked guitar is met with a lush string ensemble, which continues throughout. It crescendos naturally, and well-timed I might add. Enigk's vocal delivery is truly unique still. And his performance on guitar is absolutely inspiring. It's cool to think that this classical-flavoring can be traced back to George Martin with the Beatles and the early work of the Moody Blues. Delicious stuff. Fantastic opener. Jangling guitar coolly backs his shredded vocals as he finally states, 'I want love / If love wants me / I want God / If God wants me.' Up next is the very Post-Progressive "Interlude", a softly stilling piano instrumental. These keys are then replaced with what sounds like a far-off organ on "Oceans Apart", in which Jeremy self-harmonizes beautifully, answered by more strings, string-like effects and what sounded like French horn, perhaps. The single-chorded nature draws our mind to Raga and reveals itself to be pure psychedelic ecstasy! You get your reward in full if you just wait a little bit (just a minute here haha), amirite? Goldsmith's kit really brings it all together; it's hypnotism.

Psych-evocation continues on "Chain". And honestly I can't think of a time where Jeremy Enigk sounded quite like this; sort of a loosely Hard Rock affectation? Many of these tracks, honestly and suitably (given Jeremy's Christian faith), feel like we're being taken right to church. The mood shifts slightly, toward meditative, on "Backward Blues", the only way I like my Blues. Against a basic drone from the rhythm section and Mendel's arpeggiated bass, guitar is outputted backwards, as the title seeks to imply. It's a very provocative sound, despite its overall simplicity. Implying to me [a very sweet] Psych-Pop revivalism with a buzzing drone from synth apparently, "Summertime" is a surefire winner in many resorts [Two sides of the same coin: Any fans of The Left Banke out there? And of Apples in Stereo?]. It's one I definitely remember pretty well; solid melody and Jeremy's voice sounds good as ever. Times like these make it a bit harder to judge for the site. Sweeter still we then have "Houses". And in a whole other church-found way, the old-timey lilt reminds me of some of the hymns I grew up with. Either way, a track of romantic nostalgia; likelihood of Prog-fan appeal is limited.

Back on with a clearcut, straightaway Rock beat, "Waste Time" still brings out flavors from before, though it sounds modern in various ways. The loose drummin' is really putting in the work and simultaneously gives a vibe of the past; difficult for me to specify. To me, not one of the stronger tracks (and yet very tastefully produced, etc., etc.). On Spotify currently, "Heaven", a highly sentimental piano ballad turned Second-Wave Emo... ballad (haha), is by far the most popular track. It does have some melodic knack and interest that I just can't deny. Lovely stuff and once more we get some delicious harmonies. The explosions of guitar and cymbals, in what is broadly the outro, is very impactful. Not quite Prog, but certainly ambitious. Coming to the close is one of my all-time favorites from this album, "Rubber Bands", with a fantastic and memorable main riff. Still summoning Psychedelia, this is pretty representative of the best of what Second-Wave Emo, as it were, has to offer (I would say, yearwise, this was not even in that wave of the genre, to be clear). Really, everything is so good here. You'll never hear Nate Mendel sound like this, for instance. Simply put, this is just compositional satisfaction, after all that came before. I'll recommend here and now a band that certainly should be (and I forgot thankfully is) on ProgArchives, Polvo!!! Their exploration of dissonance, for instance, is fantastical. Similar in tone and likely aim, in my opinion, is the much more Post-Hardcore group Faraquet.

As we approach the end (of the album and this incredibly long review), next is "It's Over". I mean, they really figured out how to put some weight on the backend, hadn't they? Some of the best vocal melodies of the whole, and everyone is bringing their proverbial A game. This track reads to me, broadly, as Power Pop. Reaching into a very specific sound from Sunny Day before, "Carry You" has a forlorn feeling; dark, but not quite a dirge. Second time the thought has come to me throughout this listen, but Jeremy's occasioned raspy falsetto stands reminiscent to my ears of Jon Anderson (Yes) [Wow, combining multiple American idioms really muddies the meaning at some point, doesn't it? haha]. Despite the dark and moody, this track will offer your ears plenty. Awesome sound design, to put it one way, at the very end. Footsteps walk right-to-left and then back again as the string ensemble dies down. At first spin of the final track, "Sinatra" initially took me aback by its near-15-minute length. This doesn't sound much like anything else here to me at the start. We also get our first (clear) feature of acoustic guitar. And the wait is worth it, as it gets goin' right around minute 2. Who am I kidding? This song is huge. A swirl of different voices enters in around the fifth minute as we return to the spacious, sunlit sonics of "Sinatra"'s start. The mantra of the hour is 'I'm just me.' And all God's children said, 'Yeah, sure. Amen.' All then dies down at right about 8:00, as I patiently and ignorantly listen for more while sitting in this plenty busy, plenty loud cafe... We come back with more less than two minutes later. The remainder is effectively an ambient work. Not my favorite way to go out, but it's certainly a closing statement I can not deny significance.

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