Fire Man - Overcoming the Cycle of Sun Collapse
Mostly known by his online persona Punk Revolution Now, Fire Man is the passionate artistic project of the well-established music critic. Blending the realms of post-punk, demo, noise and pop, Fire Man’s latrest sounds like a brew of early Joyce Manor, Rodan and La Dispute. Boasting a noticeable bump in production and vigor, Overcoming the Cycle of Sun Collapse overtakes Fire Man’s previous release thanks to Caio’s commendable energy.
Frantic is still limited by Caio’s simple song structures, but the chaotic soundscape and pounding drums give it plenty of life. Brazilian Fire Song recaptures the magic that made Joyce Manor’s punky debut so catchy and noteworthy – a song not limited by its pop conventions. Moreover, the instrumental bridge is very creative, as are some of the transitions. Fire Man remakes the strongest piece from his debut, The Sun, in an effort that doesn’t add much value over the original, but boasts a tighter execution and cleaner mix, while still capturing the rawness and grittiness of the original. Furthermore, Caio’s vocal delivery is some of his best, and the instrumental sections are on point. Vacations also makes a return, greatly improving on its original by enhancing the sing-along chorus sections and dynamically switching up the instrumentation. It’s a shame that once again Caio opts for conventional pop structures over expansive and progressive suites, but at least he exceeds with them on this EP. Fire Man leaves the best for last, Unscrew; an unapologetic Rodan-redux that fluently showcases Caio’s remarkable vocal performance amidst Kiyoshi’s impeccable drumming.
It’s lacking innovation, but Fire Man makes up for it with charm and excitability. Moreover, there’s barely a wasted moment in its short, but laudable runtime. It won’t be enough to respark a punk revival, but Overcoming the Cycle of Sun Collapse will satiate any fan of punk looking for something modern to taste. Perhaps if Caio can recreate the magic of Unscrew consistently with future releases, though, he just may do so.
Good
Listen to it here:
https://fire-man.bandcamp.com/album/overcoming-the-cycle-of-sun-collapse
