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A tribute to pyromania and all things flammable, now that is what rock is missing. Trouble makers, trailblazers, pyromaniacs aiming to set the world on fire. We Start Fires release their self titled album amongst a flurry of press praise and are psyched to take the front in an all ready crowded indie market. They have the best name for a while, so good start. Can they deliver the goods, are they HOT?
With a spark, We Start Fires burst into life. 'Play You', the first track, is a buzz with guitars and synths. The drums pound and it is here that you are struck by the voice of Becky Stefani. It is familiar yet foreign. Like an old relative that you haven't seen but recognise from your youth somewhere. An old friend that you had forgotten about but walks back into your life and you remember why you were such good friends in the first place. You are taken back to Justine and Elastica, to the early 90's and the girl bands of then who seemed to really start fires in the rock, male dominated indie world. And it is a joyous occasion. Like going to your high school reunion and pulling the hot girl you lusted after all that time ago.
'Magazine' is punk exuberance. Jolty, fast, short and how it should be. “You live your life in fairy tales, your off the chart, your off the rails”. Indeed, this is how it should be. Obviously a song about fame and Heat and plunging into the celebrity vortex. “I read it in a magazine.” The Hammond sounding organ and the fuzzy bass announce 'Hipshake', a future single surely. The voices of Becky and Melissa Marx spark off each other under a break of guitar harmonics and then harmonise on an infectious chorus. Pop meets punk. They will be big in Japan. The angst of teenage girls in the land of the setting sun is more vibrant than on British shores at the moment. Girl power has been and gone and is now the norm but there is enough attitude to spark a comeback here.
'Wicked Spell' is a brief foray into slower, more emotional territory. It doesn't really work but it is only a brief dip before the high energy returns. Looking for you, a song of stalking and self denial is a much better and appropriate option for your slower number. We Start Fires have a vehicle, a sound and they are supremely good at it if this first album is anything to go by. Its not grandiose or arrogant but endearing, like a young punk cousin. 'Lullabies', the final track - “our dreams collide like firefly's” - has a mature sound, like the Oxford punk/pop bands on the Shifty Disco label, bands like Beaker, AM60 and perhaps is a glimpse of the future of We Start Fires, proof that they can keep the fire burning if you like. Glorious.
All said then, one thing drags We Start Fires down and unfortunately it is not their fault. You cant help when you are born. Sadly it is 15 years too late. That isn't to take anything away from the sum of its parts. It is cerebral, caustic, happy, alive and above all fun. If the album was released back at the start of the 90's they would have driven the road of success carved by Elastica, Echo-belly, Sleeper and their ilk. It has that sound and its hugely enjoyable for that. Just because its been done, doesn't mean it can't be done again and We Start Fires do it as well as anyone.
