The Fire Theft

Product Details

Product Reviews

(5 stars) - A sublime piece of prog majesty
The Fire Theft
The Fire Theft; 2003
Rykodisc

My Rating: 83/100

You can't really blame the Sunny Day Part Deux trio of Enigk/Hoerner/Goldsmith for splitting after THE RISING TIDE. While that album had a few brilliant moments, overall it was a mess of genre-synthesis gone bad. Kudos for trying, but the band just couldn't find a happy medium between their emo roots and their prog leanings. The great news is that the Sunny Day Part Tre trio of Enigk/Mendel/Goldsmith (aka The Fire Theft) found an excellent way ahead on their 2003 debut, abandoning emo all together and creating a sublime piece of prog majesty. Once heard in the right context ("Chain", "Heaven"), Enigk's voice is a no-brainer for prog, nuzzling itself into the happy medium between Peter Gabriel and Geddy Lee. The abandonment of punk tempos hasn't left the music boring either, as the band's instrumental chops are still firmly intact. But it's the songs that really stand out for The Fire Theft. From the aggressive and soaring "Chain" to the gorgeous, piano-based "Summertime," it's exceptionally rewarding to see a group of musicians with so much water under the bridge find so many new ways forward. Sunny Day Real Estate reunions aside, I find myself in the small camp of those thirsting for a follow-up from The Fire Theft.

Cohesion (5/5)
Concept (4/5)
Consequence (4.5/5)
Consistency (4.5/5)

Tracks:

1. Uncle Mountain (3.5/5)
2. Waste Time Segue
3. Oceans Apart (4/5)
4. Chain (5/5)
5. Backward Blues
6. Summertime (5/5)
7. Houses (5/5)
8. Waste Time (5/5)
9. Heaven (5/5)
10. Rubber Bands (4/5)
11. It's Over (5/5)
12. Carry You (5/5)
13. Sinatra (4/5)

(4 stars) - have patience
it took over 4 weeks to receive this CD, which is waaaay too long, but the CD is fine.

(5 stars) - Remarkable
I picked up this album after hearing a few songs. It absolutely floored me. This is far and away the best album of 2003. This is top 20 of the decade stuff in my opinion.

While there are nods to Sunny Day Real Estate, The Fire Theft is a band taking a new direction without it sounding forced. Don't be mistaken: this is a rock album and not so much emo, though one track has an emo feel ("It's Over," and it's reminiscent of SDRE).

Singer/songwriter Jeremy Enigk, who sounds like a cross between Robert Plant and Micheal Stipe, pours it all out over atmospheric synths, fuzz-distorted guitars, wandering basslines, and crashing drums. And it works impeccably well. Check out "Heaven," "Summertime," and "Sinatra." Then hear the rest of the album. This is a masterpiece in my mind.

(2 stars) - Probably?
If you are looking for THE RISING TIDE PART II, this ain't it, honey. I found this record to be lacking in the traditional pop and melody sensibilities that made TRT so special and beautiful.
Prog? Probably. Sweeping, passionate and beautiful? Probably not.
Sometimes I can get by with Jeremy's voice alone, as I did on the Frog Prince. This time I took the CD over to the "sell your stuff" store.

(3 stars) - Things change
The talent is evident, but none of the songs demand to be heard like before. And since I got into SDRE very recently, I can confidently say that nostalgia does not affect my judgement here. The Fire Theft sounds more like craftsmanship than artistry. I get the same magic that I did from How It Feels (my favorite album of theirs), but it only lasts for a section of a song here and there. It seems as though the source of their inspiration has moved away from what moves me. And what moves me no longer moves them.

It's almost like running into an old girlfriend and finding out that you have nothing in common any more. She's forgotten all the things you like and is into things that you don't think are very interesting. In both cases, though, we at least have the memories to fall back on. And in the case of SDRE/Fire Theft, we even have the old albums we can pop in the player any time. If this album disappoints you as it did me, do not lament. Instead, listen to the earlier stuff again and celebrate the fact that those albums were made in the first place and are still in print.

In their continuing quest to evolve, I think they've made a few missteps, like the minute-long outro that takes the fire right out of the otherwise dark and propulsive "Carry You." Experimentally entertaining, yes, but I wish they had cut the last section into a separate segue track. I think that section stands better on its own as a separate piece and would be all the more interesting for its featured placement.

The self-titled album is certainly a respectable artistic achievement. They haven't gone overboard into adult contemporary or something. They haven't sold out to the synth like so many bands tragically did in the 80s. And while the strings are a bit much, they never feel like an attempt to artificially inflate the appeal of a song. It's just workmanlike by comparison. Passion for making music is still strong, but the often harrowing sonic therapy of their earlier work has apparently been concluded to Enigk's satisfaction. The nearly schizophrenic highs and lows and unique sound that made them a magnetic listen have solved with the pill of time, and what's left is sturdy, pleasant, and not especially memorable.

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