By The Fireside - The Great Hartford Fire (Album)
Judging by the lyrical content of “The Great Hartford Fire”, and that of his previous, shorter delivery, “Battles That Add Up To None”, Daniel Lea (aka By The Fireside) seems to use as inspiration the lesser known stories of yesteryear and long forgotten historical events, such as personal accounts of war, or the burning down of a large circus tent full of animals and audiences. Hip hooray, I hear you say.
Everyone loves to hear a song of the human will overcoming adversity and tragedy, while leaving an emotional scar that’s just big enough to change one’s outlook of the world in which we live, where there’s still a smile to be had, but just enough heartache to keep the smile real. “The Great Hartford Fire” rallies to that crusade.
There are mostly pop, shoe gazing type moments to be had here, mainly due to the wispy, intimate delivery of the vocals and harmonies, which did admittedly wear on me after a while. Mr. Lea is a clever man who knows how to write a song that moves you, in your heart and in your feet. Some tunes seem familiar to others I’ve heard before, and while I sometimes had the feeling that certain parts may have been heavily influenced by other acts from the late 20th century, it didn’t really matter, because these are really catchy tunes.
Each instrument seems very well placed in the mix, and Lea’s ability to know what to keep in the background and what to give the spotlight is uncanny. But, you know, he is a producer with his own studio, so he’d probably look a bit of a tit if he didn’t how to do this well.
Similar feeling bands that come to mind are Dinosaur Jr. and Folk Implosion, again due to the singable harmonies and the kind of sad, hopeful emotions these acts inspire. But that’s really beside the point. These are great songs, and if your leanings are toward that of indie type pop, then “The Great Hartford Fire” will give your goose bumps the day in the sun they need.
