Reviews

I can’t even begin to describe how much I appreciate coming home from eight hours of waiting tables to an album this good.  No, not good…Great. For someone who hasn’t had a decent night of sleep in months, who plans out their week from paycheck to paycheck, to have music like this so full of energy and enthusiasm for the mere purpose of just playing music is completely indescribable.
 
Along the lines of Hot Water Music, Smoke Or Fire is cutthroat punk rock; the kind that grabs onto you and throws you clear across the room.  The music is clear, tight, and a real treat for the ears.  It’s the kind of album where your feet and head won’t stop moving for all twelve songs.  Each one is unique, distinguished and has it’s own special flair.  One track I was especially impressed with was “Cops and Drugs,” a highly opinionated piece on the irony of the war on drugs with lyrics like “While they’re working for a drug free world/They’re taking money from the working man/So the working man turns to drugs.”
 
“Cryin’ Shame” is the album’s half acoustic piece, one of the best acoustic tunes I’ve heard from a punk band in ages.  Some bands were not meant to ever go acoustic, and this is not one of them.  Lyrics: “Where are my friends tonight?/Who’s looking out for me?/I don’t mind drinking by myself/But I don’t want to be alone again.”  It leads right into “Point Break,” which is by far, one of the best song on the album. Seriously, if you haven’t heard this band or haven’t heard this album, go buy it when it comes out.  My only hope is that it does for even one person what it did for me.
 
Every now and then, we find a release that does something special for us; that makes us feel every note like it’s a brick hitting us straight in the face. And we love it.  They effect us in such a way that it really feels like these people are playing music just for us; and no one in the world can ever feel the same way.  Actually, I don’t really know if anyone else will feel the same way about this album, but I don’t care.  This isn’t about what everyone else thinks, it’s about what I think, and I love it.