The Fire Theft
(Rykodisc)
by Tim Den
Oh, how we disciples were heartbroken when, after reforming and putting out their best efforts to date (’98’s How it Feels to Be Something On and ’00’s The Rising Tide), Sunny Day Real Estate called it quits again. Can the musical gods be more cruel? Just when the projected growth of the band seemed unstoppable, they yank the plug once more! Aaaaaahhh, the devastation!
Naturally, then, the overwhelming response to the news of The Fire Theft coming to life. Featuring 3/4s of Sunny Day Real Estate (guitarist/back up vocalist Dan Hoerner, rumored to have been the main reason behind the band’s second break up, not included), the band have finally unveiled their debut after two years of speculation and demos floating around cyberspace. The verdict? Emotional songs that are worth the wait, but definitely different enough to alienate lots of Sunny Day Real Estate fans.
And although there are misses amongst the gems (“Backward Blues” is a mess-about best left on a four-track in a teenager’s room; “Rubber Bands” is a repetitive instrumental that’s simply dull; and “Sinatra” is a meandering closer to an otherwise fluid album), The Fire Theft is proof that these musical titans cannot be silenced. They might’ve traded in their Rat pedals for MiDi synth patches, but we can be sure that they’ll always have shockingly beautiful songs pouring out of them.
(www.rykodisc.com)