So Long Someday

Firecracker | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 15, 2005)
• Original Release Date: March 15, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Emerge
• ASIN: B00080AQ6A
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #599,551 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Welcome Back

2. Caroline

3. Promising

4. Mississippi

5. Cast Aside

6. Boy Most Likely

7. Waltzing Mathilda

8. Hey Amy

9. Fireflies

10. Box of Hearts

11. Without Even Trying

12. So Long Lorraine

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Isn't it always about a girl?, April 13, 2005

By 

i_am_tooch (Sunnyvale, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: So Long Someday (Audio CD)

Amy. Caroline. Lorraine. And the ten other unnamed women who variously broke the singer's heart, left without looking back, or (worst of all) left and came back -- this is the sun that Planet Firecracker orbits. it's a cliché that all songs are about love, yet Firecracker's deft writing -- the entire band is credited as songwriters, so who am I to speculate where the lyrics come from -- manages to elude triteness and ring graceful new changes on the age-old country themes.

It's good to start with the writing, because unless you're Oasis you can't turn lead into gold. The better news is that the songs are well-served by the musical setting. The band is tight and ferocious without being undisciplined. Listen to the way "Hey, Amy" or "(I'm Sorry) Caroline" build to climaxes all the more powerful for their restraint. You can tell there's more there, held back.

Underneath the pedal steels and Hammond organs there's a solid rock pulse that keeps the songs from getting soggy in their country affect. Peter Craft's drums and Gardner May's bass are locked tight and provide propulsion for Dave Strahan's skirling guitar solos and Russ Tillitt's honky-tonk piano. Again, all competent bands can play guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards, but Firecracker's sound is expanded nicely by pedal steel, mellotron, banjo, and especially Scout's acoustic guitar -- always present and adding a solid rhythmic anchor and a warmth to their sound.

Speaking of Scout, he should insure his voice: it's a great country-rock instrument, soaring and lyrical, with the slight catch that puts songs like "Without Even Trying" or "Valley of the Moon" over the top where they belong. Hey bartender, another round! Russ' and Dave's backing vocals fit smoothly around his lead, apparently effortlessly.

In fact the whole record sounds so easy and effortless you'd never know from listening that this is the first full-length album, recorded locally in San Francisco. There's a nice gloss to the production that's not too sweet but suits the tartness of the songs. All in all, "So Long Someday" bears up very well to repeated listening, from quietly grooving to "Boy Most Likely" at work to howling along with "Box of Hearts" in the car. An auspicious and most welcome debut.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If Wilco and Old 97s had a baby + Ryan Adams spanked its ass, March 17, 2005

By 

Tastes Like Burning (Brick, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: So Long Someday (Audio CD)

Pre-Gap Ryan Adams? Being There-era Wilco? Following the same arc as Old 97's?

Like the Old 97's, this band, a former member of the neo-alt-country movement of the late 90s, has burgeoned from its roots rock past to form a sound that is unique, yet comfortably familiar at the same time. Gracious hooks, minimal, but just enough studio trickery, a crackled voice always on the verge of being swallowed by its own emotion, and an oh-so-sweet trickle of piano.

And Damn! The song penned by good ol' Rhett Miller is not even the best song on the CD (sorry Rhett, you can always fall back on your looks). Nope, the best tracks are Mississippi River (with that simple yet tingly banjo), (I'm Sorry) Caroline, and Promising.

5.0 out of 5 stars Catchy as all get out., April 5, 2005

By 

Trixie (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: So Long Someday (Audio CD)

This record is fabulous. Promising has one of the catchiest guitar riffs I've ever heard, destined to play itself in your head for days afterwards. I wouldn't be surprised if Mississippi River and I'm Sorry Caroline get stuck in there as well. Without Even Trying, however, is my favorite song on the record. It achingly describes the wish that everything could be just a little bit different.