| Ye who are weary, come on home...
Kentucky Shroud, the latest release from apocalyptic-rockers Flaming Fire, has to be looked at in two distinct halves. The first half of the album has some of Flaming Fire's strongest studio tracks to date, and the second half consists of live cuts of some of their better known songs. Even with this distinct separation, the album flows together nicely. Production is also high on this release. The studio tracks sound cleaner and crisper than any of the earlier Flaming Fire releases and the live tracks are nice soundboard quality recordings. The live tracks are from WFMU’s Free Music Series and were also the first to be added to the Free Music Archive (freemusicarchive.org).
“Natural Light Catastrophe” starts the album off with a lament about the Williamsburg scene. ‘Come on Daddy, send that check/buy those drugs and pay the rent.’ As well as the difficulty of surviving in the city, ‘I can't afford New York’.
“Golden Skull” and “Breaking Your Own Heart (Again)” follow and are the highlights of the album. Both songs are as different as they can be from each other, but are equally strong. On “Golden Skull” you can visualize lead singer Patrick Hambrecht standing at a pulpit of fire spewing proclamations, 'One golden skull to bring forth the light.' While “Breaking Your Own Heart (Again)”, with it's somber piano backdrop, has a melancholic beauty. Closing out the studio half of the album are the tracks “Inebriation!” and “Acid Trash”.
“Fire of Love”, from the album Songs From the Shining Temple, opens up the live section of Kentucky Shroud. The next live track is “Water Privatization Man” which has not yet seen a studio release. The great “High Bell”, the highlight of When the High Bell Rings, and “Kill the Right People”, also from Shining Temple, really show the energy of a live Flaming Fire set.
As the second album of 2007 released by the band, Kentucky Shroud is a solid and smart release. It not only showcases some of their newer songs, but also gives an idea of their live sound to those who may not have been lucky enough to experience that yet. The band puts on a great live show and these songs capture that intensity and energy. Pick up Kentucky Shroud today and make sure to catch their revival when they roll into your town. Reviewed
by: Tom Gilbert
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