Boy Sets Fire
In Chrysalis
Initial
Sometimes I can be so stubborn in my need to keep away from hardcore’s flavor of the month club, I can forget one important thing.
Sometimes these bands are popular with good reason. Such is the case with Boy Sets Fire. After missing two previous releases, I finally gave it a go when this 5-song EP came out on the Initial label. The first song establishes that this band is not afraid to mix a little politics in with the rock. Fair enough. Fortunately, it is so well-done musically, most of the “get your politics out of my music” crowd will still appreciate this band. Musically, this band is keeping the punch of hardcore rhythms, but opt for an almost indie rock sound rather than the old fashioned “scooped out mid tones on the guitar” metal core sound. This almost reminds me of Grade or something SoCal circa early ’90s. The singing goes from a scream to a lovely melodious voice almost without a thought, both voices fit well in the structure of the songs presented here. At first, I thought the cover of the Dead Kennedy’s “Holiday In Cambodia” was over the top, but it sits well with me, especially since singer Nathan Gray can keep up with Jello’s bile almost note for note. This is a winner of an EP, and I am hoping for many happy returns for these boys.
Initial Records, P.O. Box 17131, Louisville, KY 40217; http://www.boysetsfire.com
