PRESS
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Akron/Family | Interview
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naturalismoSeth Olinsky of Akron/Family was kind enough to answer some of my questions before embarking on a nationwide tour. Naturalismo: Both Meek Warrior and Love is Simple seem thematically consistent, in terms of the outlook projected in both. Meek Warrior seems to be inspired by Buddhist thought (particulary the Heart Sutra in Gone Beyond) whereas Love Is Simple seems borne from the Advaitic school of Nondualism (”No point exists” - There’s So Many Colors). Do you write albums with lyrical themes in mind? Seth Olinsky: Meek Warrior was developed a little more thematically than Love is Simple. Meek was a spur of the moment recording session in Chicago with our hero free jazz drummer Hamid Drake. When we heard of the opportunity, we just hung out in a hotel room and threw together a few songs that had been sitting around that seemed to work together. Part of the selection process was that the songs had themes of or were inspired by Buddhism. Love is Simple didn’t come together this way. It was at first just all of us bringing new songs to the table and then editing down from there. But early on I remember Ryan playing the song......
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Fire On Fire | Review
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Newnoise.com | Nadeem AliFOF = Fire On Fire = Freaked Out Folk "Cerberus Shoal sounded like aliens making space music, FOF sound like aliens making folk music. " Fire On Fire used to be Cerberus Shoal more or less. They might have swapped their electric instruments for a variety of acoustic instrumentation but FOF are recognisably Cerberus Shoal.That isn't to say this is merely a rebranding or an old sound disguised with a new name. FOF are a whole new entity. Chriss Sutherland (vocals, guitar, doumbek), talking to New Noise, explains how the Cerberus Shoal morphed into FOF. "I don't think there is an easy answer to this question and maybe we never really thought about it as we were 'transforming'. We have been together as people for quite some time so I think we saw Fire on Fire as the next logical/natural phase of our existence together. Cerberus Shoal had run its course after almost 12 years so the decision to move on was something that really wasn't decided...it just happened." Cerberus Shoal sounded like aliens making space music, FOF sound like aliens making folk music. That spazzy otherworldly weirdness remains hiding in the backwoods racket they now peddle. The......
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Fire on Fire | Review
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On Milwaukee | Julie LawrenceGritty, yet melodicI heard this South Portland, Maine band on KEXP's "Music That Matters" Podcast and loved the folksy sound from the start. The DJ played a song off their latest release on Young God Records, immediately following a new Bonny "Prince" Billy track and I actually thought it was one long song, if that gives you a feel for the music. Gritty, yet melodic, and chock full of beautiful banjo, accordion and upright bass. Check them out....
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Akron/Family Interview
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Impact Magazine Nottingham UK | Sophie Pearce and Ian Steadman Miles Seaton of Akron/Family ruminates on love, joy and being part of a quasi-religious hermetic brethrenAs an antidote to the money flying around this issue, Miles Seaton of Akron/Family ruminates on love, joy and being part of a quasi-religious hermetic brethren. "Love is simple," Miles says. "Love is a simple and boundless force that suffuses all life. It has no agenda; it's like a fire burning inside you." This is a view that won't surprise anyone familiar with Akron/Family and their particularly joyous and love-ful music. If you're not familiar, then perhaps Pitchfork's label for them, 'unmitigated hippy gaiety,' could go some way to summing up their sound. Or are they being simplified and misunderstood by a music press too eager to place bands into categories? "A little bit. I think we're operating in a system that is constantly looking to be impressed or to impress. Our music is sort-of hippy," he says. He's not wrong their latest release, coincidentally called Love Is Simple, is full of homages to the more flowery periods of 60s psychedelia. The opening track, "Love, Love, Love (Everyone)," could easily be passed off as a Beatles......
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Fire on Fire | Review
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Tinymixtapes.com | David Nadellescreams realness and authenticityYoung God Releases EP by Fire on Fire; Metallica Withdraw Hastily Filed Lawsuit Against Young God’s “Fight Fire With Fire” But Will Continue to Contest the “Master of Puppets” Children’s Show. Hetfield: “There’s no friggin’ way we’re backing down on this one, dude!” It’s been said that everyone in the world has a twin... except Michael Gira. From early ramblings sidewalking around Europe, kibbutzing around Israel, and no-waving around New York, Gira has lived a life full of eye-opening exploits; many good and some, I’m guessing, not so hot. Without going into too many details (that you could find on your own anyway), it is sufficient to say that the man’s “life experience” section on his CV runs a few reams long. However, as unique an individual as he is and as venturesome as his life has been, Gira’s taste in music has always been predictable. When it comes time to sign acts to his Young God label, his choices range from the sublime to the remarkably sublime. The latest troupe touched by the hand of Gira is Fire on Fire, a five-piece nouveau bluegrass band that have that same Young God feel to them:......