Fire Man - Spoonful
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 sounds like a brew of early Unwound, Rodan and Shellac. Brewed in New York, NY, his debut Spoonful is a commendable effort, despite its rough edges.
The Sun (Parts 1 and 2) are quite rough, though boast an admirable amount of energy. This is partly due to Caio’s commendable vocal performance. While the instrumentation is at times awkward, and the production lacking, the creative composition certainly makes up for it. The noisy elements and confident distortions give plenty of life to Secrets, despite its pop conventions. Unfortunately, the formulaic song-structures drag a lot of songs down, such as Welcome to Brazil, Vacations and Nervous Day, which feel more like retreads of the post-hardcore scenes of the 90’s; imitating them, rather than expanding upon them. These songs do not boast the wildly imaginative compositional skills that made the opening tracks stand out. Songs that switch up the structure/composition or incorporate progressive elements throughout, such as Spoonful of Suicide and Power, are quite commendable, and display Caio is clearly capable of some creative suites. Lastly, the closer Money, ends the album in a rather plain fashion, mostly due to the generic vocal delivery, saved only by the admirable execution of instrumentation.
One aspect that makes Fire Man standout are the vocals; they are clearly identifiable and boast a lot of personality. Amidst the gritty, chaotic soundscapes, they add quite a bit of charisma. It can’t help sound like an amateurish debut, though. Thankfully, Spoonful has a few standout moments that are worth listening to on their own. Nevertheless, here’s hoping Fire Man can find a way to progress the genre forward in future.
Below Average
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