Details:
Think:Fire, it would seem, have done rather well for themselves of late: the press release that accompanies this EP tells me that they’ve shared stages with Funeral For A Friend, Say Anything, New Found Glory and Fightstar this year. The last band of that list is perhaps more than a coincidence, as the first track of this EP would not have sounded out of place on Fightstar’s first album; just without the power of Charlie Simpson’s vocal.
The second track (Don’t ask me for the name, there’s no track listing included) continues in a very similar vein, and it’s only when track 3 of 5 rolls around that I actually start to really pay attention to what I’m listening to. Whilst it’s still continuing in a fairly similar vein, you really cannot fault this quintet in terms of songwriting. The hooks are catchy, the guitar and drum-work in particular is awesome, and although only 5 tracks long, the further you get through this EP, the more mature the sound becomes. The Fightstar comparisons seem to stop after track 2, and track 3 has a great few hooks that are reminiscent of their fellow Glaswegians, Biffy Clyro. There are also shades of a Funeral For A Friend/Lost Prophets sound as the EP progresses.
However, it has now dawned upon me that all I can do to describe this band and to form an opinion about this EP is to compare them to other acts that are similar; and this perhaps is their greatest weakness. “Swings And Roundabouts” shows that Think:Fire can write great songs, with brilliantly catchy hooks, and they clearly demonstrate to the listener that they’re all excellent musicians. But they’re by no means the finished article. Think:Fire lack the final bit of “umph” required to do it quite as well as the other bands I’ve listed previously, there’s just a little something missing; something that I can’t quite put my finger on.
I have no doubt that Think:Fire have huge potential; they have all the components required, they just need to put it all together a bit differently.
Listen: www.myspace.com/thinkfire
