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Fire on Fire | The Orchard
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Angela Zimmerman | Crawdaddy MagazineFire on Fire takes the listener on a ride through the sheer joys and woes of the human experiencehttp://crawdaddy.wolfgangsvault.com/Review/Fire-on-Fire-The-Orchard.html On a national level, the music scene up in Maine seems to be under the radar; I, for one, am not up on the happenings in the nation’s far Northeast corner. Enter South Portland, Maine, a town of just over 20,000 residents that rests along the rustic and rugged shoreline of one of America’s most scenic states. From this residential community hails the band Fire on Fire, whose dizzying array of freak folk and Americana has been captured quite beautifully on their first full-length, The Orchard. The record is cohesive enough that it’s stamped with a deliberate thematic quality, but its density and rich stylistic qualities enables the album to naturally flow and change direction, showcasing a depth and precociousness that is not present in many of Fire on Fire’s contemporaries. Perhaps it’s because, according to the band’s bio on the Young God website, “All five friends live together in a big blue house across from green oil tank # 28 in South Portland, Maine,” that they are able to reign in a delicate musical synergy and......
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Fire On Fire / The Orchard / Review
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Prefixmag.com / By Gwendolyn Elliott With a widely regarded EP tucked into their belt, Fire on Fire’s first full-length steers the band square into the new roots movement with the confidence of a more established folk collective. Prefixmag.com http://www.prefixmag.com/reviews/fire-on-fire/the-orchard/23539/ Fire On Fire The Orchard - December 8, 2008 By Gwendolyn Elliott With a widely regarded EP tucked into their belt, Fire on Fire’s first full-length steers the band square into the new roots movement with the confidence of a more established folk collective. Surely the enthusiastic backing of Michael Gira and the similar sounds of alt-folk-gospel label mates Akron/Family helped to ease them into the fold, as the group not long ago was playing progressive art-rock under the name Cerberus Shoal (and were prolific performers to that end). We’re seeing this a lot these days: more and more bands putting their post-rock heritage on the shelf to take part in the new folk renaissance (take, for instance, Derek Fudesco's move from art-punk Pretty Girls Make Graves to folky alt-rockers the Cave Singers). With a focus on traditional, old-timey sounds and time-honored instruments, Fire On Fire is next in line, but in this case The Orchard bridges the gap through......
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Fire On Fire REDEFINING AMERICANA
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relix.comWithout realizing it, Fire on Fire has crafted an un-prejudicial variety of American folkhttp://www.relix.com/blogcategory/Bands_On_the_Verge.html The visceral folksy five-some Fire on Fire is an offspring of Maine progressive rock outfit Cerberus Shoal. “It came out of a portion of the band wanting to do something more relaxed sounding— something without baggage,” says Chris Sutherland (vocals, guitar, doumbek). The ensemble consists of tight-knit friends, lovers and their diverse collection of instruments: Colleen Kinsella (vocals, harmonium, guitar, accordion, banjo), Caleb Mulkerin (vocals, guitar, banjo, dobro), Tom Kovacevic (vocals, oud, nay, tamboritza, jembe, tambourine), Micah Blue Smaldone (vocals, upright bass, banjo) and Sutherland. December 10th marks the release date of their first full-length CD under the new name. The Orchard features archaic folk-flavored harmonies, high-pitched wails, rustic hums and twangy acoustics. When the band’s back-woodsy style, which emphasizes its rural Maine roots, is met with world beats and bizarre instruments, a simple country song turns psychedelic. “We’re inspired by Arabic and Turkish music, bluegrass and folk, African pop from the ‘70s and ‘80s, Brazilian Tropicali and of course all the stock Dylan and Young,” says Sutherland. “Our Americana is very much a melting pot.” Without realizing it, Fire on Fire has crafted an un-prejudicial......
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Fire on Fire
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Jambase.comAs haunted as Sleepy Hollow and woodsy as a Carter Family reunion, Fire on Fire hum with ancient things transmuted through all-acoustic instrumentation and a marvelously un-modern chemistry. Deeply felt, highly personal and eloquent as a homespun waltz, their full-length debut, The Orchard (out December 10 on Young God Records), shimmers with its own magic. Raw, beautifully organic voices burrow into heavy places with a sweet step redolent of Sacred Harp spirituals, '70s British folk-rock and American greats like Malvina Reynolds, Nathan Moore and Fred Neil. Their sound is an incantation that makes the air crackle slightly and sends ripples under your skin. Fire On Fire burns to the touch, but in a lovely, wholly special way. Ornate yet roughhewn, infinitely sturdy and delicate as fog, their music hovers outside the norm, beckoning one to wander beyond. Go, you won't be sorry....
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Meet Larkin Grimm: Hippie offspring, psychedelic folkie, Bush pal.
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Time Out NY | Jay Ruttenberg GRIMM TIDINGS Singer-songwriter Larkin Grimm chronicles a berserk American experience on her new album, Parplar. http://www.timeout.com/newyork/articles/music/69463/cult-singer The itinerant folksinger Larkin Grimm has come downtown from her current home in Spanish Harlem‹length of residence: one week‹to grab breakfast on her way out of town. Rain tumbles down with a ferocity generally seen in movies about shipwrecks, yet she dines outside, beneath the restaurant¹s modest canopy, remaining miraculously dry as the city soaks. To the musician¹s right sits a drunk, welcomed to Grimm¹s table after he drifted by requesting money. ³Arggh!² he mumbles. ³No mucho English.² The aromatic stranger drifts in and out of consciousness, missing the fantastic, at times unbelievable life story that the singer recounts with a monologuist¹s poise. Grimm is 27, the colorful tattoos of her generation splayed across her arms. Her riveting new album, Parplar, is her third full-length, yet the first to feature nonimprovised material and gain wider distribution, courtesy of Young God Records. Her songs are at once witchy, funny and intensely sexual‹as befits an album that she claims to be ³about Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and the battle between male and female energies in the world.² Like many eccentric......