Rating: 
Since the release of their album, Survival, it seems everyone has gotten behind New York’s Forest Fire, though they haven’t quite broken into the top tier. Â Staring at the X is supposed to be the record that gets them there, propelling them into our speakers for repeated spins. Â For all intents and purposes, it’s a good record, just not quite sure it’s that record.
“Born Into” begins the record with a bit of a trickle, as Mark Thresher takes to the vocals, barely speaking them as atmospheric blips jump in and out. Â But, then the song takes flight, going further into the noise spectrum, as Natalie Stormann joins in backing vocals. Â It’s fairly noisy, in comparison to the rest of the record, but it just doesn’t go anywhere before the track ends. However, this is a complete contradiction to “Future Shadows,” the following track on Staring at the X. There’s a bit of a quiver in Thresher’s vocals, sort of like our old friend Devandra. Â Ringing guitars eventually flesh out the track, fusing with the melody Mark brings to the table. Â It’s definitely a stand out.
One thing that seems to hold Forest Fire back on this release is a lack of a true musical identity. Â “The News” has this great feeling of folky-stomper fused with machine/guitar tampering that definitely provides a uniqueness you’ll struggle to find elsewhere. Â Even the sax solo fits perfectly, but then the band goes somewhere completely off the map. Â “They Pray Execution Style” follows with a haunting number, one fueled by a sense of impending musical doom. Â Natalie Stormann takes the lead here, and while her voice does well in this realm, the song itself doesn’t really have a place in the whole of the record, which ends up being a problem–on the whole, it’s skippable.
As you move along into Staring at the X, there are some fairly decent songs, such as “Mtns are Mtns,” a number that surely will appeal to those who appreciate decent slide guitar, piano and sprawling guitars. Â It’s short enough to be pleasant, but not long enough to really establish itself as a winner. Â Similarly, the album’s title track, “Staring at the X,” approaches more of a singer/songwriter approach than any of the other tracks, relying mostly on Thresher and lightly strummed guitars. Â On any other record, you’d love this track, but it comes off here as a rather mundane tune.
Hardly a song on here could clearly be stated as disposable, so that’s a good thing I reckon. Â However, having spent the last few days listening to Forest Fire, the whole recording doesn’t seem that remarkable to me. Â Songs seems out of place when looking at Staring at the X as a whole, and the album suffers because of this inconsistency. Â I can where we’d all enjoy some tracks as piecemeal collections, but united, it falls short of the lofty goals I think we all had in mind for the band. Better luck next time I suppose.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Future-Shadows.mp3]
Download: Forest Fire – Future Shadows [MP3]
When you get your copy of Wares new LP, the first three tracks fit seamlessly together, reaching its apex with “Living Proof.” This song almost feels like a state of dreamy consciousness, which fits with the writing experience of Cassia Hardy, who describes the tune as a moment of euphoria after having gender affirming surgery; its one of those rare moments when you can almost trade places with the narrator…perhaps a great thing considering the difficulties the trans community faces. Still, there’s a feeling of hope, a feeling of escaping into the world on your own terms and never looking back. This is just one of the various brilliant moments that fills Survival; you’ll be sure to grab it from Mint Records before its release on April 24th.
I think my favorite thing about this fresh 
