Following in the footsteps of Akron/Family, Fire On Fire are the latest band from the Young God camp to explore the outer parameters of Americana. The Orchard is the group's debut full-length as Fire On Fire (although they've previously functioned as Cerberus Shoal) and it's a very organic, very natural sounding affair, all recorded using only a couple of microphones and a handful of acoustic instruments (including guitar, mandolin, banjo, violins and accordion). Bluegrass and rootsy folk music is the starting point for the band's appealing sonic cocktail, though there's a revisionist approach that turns everything on its head: in a strange sort of way, Fire On Fire are to Americana what Beirut was to Eastern European folk music, and the results are tremendous, reminiscent of chaotic ensembles like The Cherryblossoms whilst retaining a sky-high standard of musicianship - the writing is consistently brilliant too, taking a Tom Waits-like approach to modernising archaic song-forms. Highly recommended.
lastfm
On Pebbles, the umpteenth Pumice full-length outing, Stefan Neville excavates the mutant rock of Simply Saucer & the idiosyncratic, rhythmic compositions of Moondog (at his most playfully abstract), and re-contextualizes those touchstones via the pages of a mid-70s Incredible Hulk comic book. Pebbles offers the unlikely marriage of astute refinement and wild abandon, with songs uplifting & sincere, yet dark, with oddball substance to spare. Featuring some of Pumice's best makeshift pop songs to date, Pebbles even manages a few excellently fractured instrumentals that harkens to The Clean.
