BoySetsFire

With a decade-long plus of label hopping, Boysetsfire are setting in with Equal Vision, who will release the band’s new studio album The Misery Index: Notes from the Plague Years in early 2006. The band’s career to this point plays out in a blur of seemingly perpetual touring, DIY ethos and broken down vans. To lead up to the new album, Equal Vision has issued Before the Eulogy, a 20-track CD that features the re-issues of the Consider seven-inch and In Chrysalis EP, along with the band’s first two demos and rare, not often heard tracks. The sound quality is surprising good and Before the Eulogy has managed to capture the band’s early work in a way that surpasses similar efforts, which typically come out sounding like bad bootlegs. This collection of early and rare material captures the spirit of Boysetsfire and gives a keen insight into the origins of the band’s epic, arresting songwriting. It’s also a testament to Boysetsfire’s do-or-die-trying stance. Their first demo was recorded in drummer Matt Krupanski’s basement on a four-track; Consider was funded by the band’s local gigs. This collection is also telling of the band’s perseverance. When the demos here were first sent out, a lot of people didn’t understand the combination of screaming and singing. Over ten years later, the band’s determination to stick to their style is still the driving force in Boysetsfire’s career.