Fires Were Shot Solace

Calling on my trusty press release, I am informed that FiRES WERE SHOT - a peculiar piece of typesetting almost as annoying as Therapy?'s goddamn question mark, and which I will abandon for the purposes of my sanity - are from Austin, Texas, like a hell of a lot of other fantastic bands. How does a town have such great bands, and still vote for Jeb Bush? There's two of them - which I suppose isn't enough to sway an election, after all - and they released debut Form the Hearth (spelling?) on their own label in 1998. What the hell they've been doing since, I know not. Shouldn't criticise, I suppose, because while it's probably not six year's work, this is a fine album nevertheless.

Like all the other albums reviewed here, this is a work that looks at influence, legacy, and the future. There have been a great number of drone, post- and apocalyptic albums lately, and many of them have failed, because, to be honest, after Tortoise, Mogwai and GY!BE, there's only so much that you can do by killing a guitar or cello for 45 minutes. Nevertheless, there are bands like Múm and Mad Action who take elements from such an established style and push things on. Like Múm, Fires Were Shot take the post- model and turn it analogue, creating a warm, organic, earthy feel. It's not for nothing that reviewers have talked of the barren yet fascinating landscapes of their native Texas. Like Mad Action, they also have a fine sense for a tune. The other band that comes to mind is Black Dice, perhaps because of the fine ambition, even pretension, at work here.

Anyway, having made a mental note to myself to slate any albums that denied they were post-rock (cf. "Hollywood denies cruising rumours"), I'm afraid I have to change my mind and recommend this one heartily. Maybe I'm getting nostalgic myself, waiting for Mogwai to return, but in its own right this is a compelling sophomore outing.