Light Up

Just a Fire | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 14, 2003)
• Original Release Date: 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Asian Man
• ASIN: B0000DEM5S
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #803,866 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Deceptive Self-Promotion, May 5, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Light Up (Audio CD)

This album wasn't what I was expecting. I had read a couple of reviews including the band's bio on their record label homepage that touted them as "dub-inspired" and heavily influenced by other reggae-hybrid bands such as "The Police". The only thing "dub" about the album is that many of the tracks feature a repetitve bassline and it seems that the drummer has gone out and bought himself a piccolo snare. Beyond that, they are only reggae influenced in the way that say, Fugazi is reggae-influenced. For some that may be enough. Fred Erskine's vocals approximate the urgent warble of Ian McKaye's and they have just enough of an experimental tinge to keep it interesting. They are definitely not beholden to standard time signatures. After a couple of listens I began thinking that the album would have been a lot better if it were purely instrumental. Strip the vocals and Just a Fire would sound like a heavier, distorted Pell Mell. However, the lyrics make every track discordant and hard to focus on. Plus every song is overtly political which if that's your thing, cool...but be warned.