Firewater

Throughout their relatively short career Firewater have stayed out-skirted from the outskirts. It’s a shame too, the band is one of the few modern acts that manage to combine solid songs with a prevailing mood that cloaks both their work and image. Fronted by ex-Cop Shoot Cop bass player Tod A, the band deliver rootsy morgue pop that has elements of everything from Frank Sinatra to Nick Cave to Ukrainian circus music. On Songs We Should Have Written, the band lend their unique delivery to 11 cover tracks by artists ranging from Sonny and Cher to Robyn Hitchcock. Ultimately, the album works under the old cliché of the band "making each song its own.” Without showing any disrespect to any of the original versions, the band add an equal mixture of tremolo and dread to each track. This treatment gives a remarkable new texture to songs such as Sonny Bono’s "The Beat Goes On” and the Lee Hazelwood-penned, Frank Sinatra-helmed "This Town.” Far from being a band that needs to rely on the songs of others, on this album Firewater gives an interesting glimpse into the small pieces that have gone into creating the tapestry of such an intriguing band.