Fire Divine – It’s All a Blur

Hey, someone actually got a press release right when they compared a band to other, more famous ones. Indeed, Fire Divine does sound like Weezer, no fooling about it. Where Weezer would like to go and make pop tunes based off what has been popular in the past, Fire Divine experiments with the general sound and the popular “screamo” sound of the day to make an interesting take on Frankenstein’s monster. The bipolar vocal attack of Fire Divine is the standout facet of the band: while Ian puts on eir’s best Rivers Cuomo voice during much of this all-too-short EP, the screamo (think of Senses Fail) element provides a very vivid contrast to the former vocals. The guitar wash on some of the tracks seems to be a little hackneyed, including those sloppy-distortion lines during the epic “Smoke and Mirrors”. When the solo finally comes in to relieve these lines, the track immediately moves into a much more open and skygazing mode, a different movement in the symphony that is “Smoke and Mirrors”.

“Clark and Rightwood” is the high point of the disc, starting “It’s All A Blur” with so much excess energy, burning out much sooner than the rest of the disc, barely eking out two and half minutes of indie-rock fury. The breakdowns in “Reputation Outlives Application” are masterfully executed, going from the angsty energy of futility to a heart-felt type of crooning. Overall, I see Fire Divine as a band that hasn’t completely made their mind up about the sound they wish to have or the direction they wish to take, and as such, show their influences a little too heavily on this recording. Hints of brilliances shine through on this recording, but are littered among a lot of half-hashed-out ideas.

Remembering that the band only has about 16 minutes of music to their name at this current point, I don’t know if I am personally seeing all to Fire Divine that there is to see. From my review of This Is How I Kill My Tears, here are more indepth views on “Smoke and Mirrors” and “Reputation Outlives Application”: “Smoke and Mirrors”, a disconcerting track in the overly fuzzy guitars and bizarre time signatures. But, like a phoenix arisen from the ashes, an incredibly melodic guitar line cuts through the fuzz, aiming directly into individuals’ hearts with a solo that plays along with a piano. The epic qualities of the band come to fruition with “Reputation Outlives Application”, mixing Strike Anywhere/Inquisition with Coheed and Cambria and Atreyu.

Top Track : Clark and Rightwood

Rating: 6.4/10

Fire Divine – It’s All a Blur / 4 Tracks / 2004 Deep Elm Records / http://www.deepelm.com / Released 6 April 2004 / Reviewed 26 March 2004