Firewater

Firewater lingers somewhere between Nick Cave, Beck’s abandon samba styling in "Deadweight” and Russian circus music. Fronted by ex-Cop Shoot Cop bass player Todd A, the band’s latest release, The Man on the Burning Tightrope, is a distinctive and truly accomplished album. While mixing moods and genres the way a car wreck mixes fibreglass, the album manages to come off as coherent and strangely accessible. The most outstanding element of the album is the layer of darkness that hovers over even the most upbeat songs. Like the smile of a clown or staring into the eyes of Kathy Lee Gifford, there is just a feeling of evil that radiates.