(2008 - Self Released)
I have to admit that I was almost afraid to listen to "Matter and Light", The Theater Fire's new album. The band's 2006 release "Everybody Has A Dark Side" was so disarmingly inventive and engaging with its laid back Southwestern melodies and quirky, droll sense of humor. How could the next album be anything but a disappointment? Such fears proved unfounded however, "Matter and Light" is every bit as good as the former album, if not superior.
Once again the Dallas-Fort Worth seven-piece, fronted by dual songwriters Dan Feagin and Curtis Heath, ambles in its uhurried pace through a plethora of moods and textures. In its own way, each song evokes a dusty, down home atmosphere suited to the particular tale it's telling. The tales in this case touching on a butcher shop from the slaughteree's point of view, gratitude for getting smuggled across the border, testicles and wanting to be Errol Flynn but turning out like your Dad instead.
Things do seem to be somewhat more formal this time out. The orchestration and production are more structured and ambitious on "Matter and Light" which still invokes the band's eclectic jumble of sounds with all the horns, strings, bells, guitars and various keys but this time introduces the different elements to the tunes with greater effect. The whole album still exhudes a laid-back, "front-porch-with-a-bunch-of-friends" vibe but there is also a more sophisticated sense of layering and subtlety going on. Instead of most of the instruments playing most of the time we get the occasional minor player briefly coming in for support to flesh out the arrangements and generally add extra dimention to already satisfying ditties.
Although one may often see The Theater Fire bannered with terms such as "Western" and "Americana" it's important to note that they are not the least but "twangy", nor are they anything remotely akin to "Alt-Country". There are no straight-up cowboy songs or aspirations of Uncle Tupelo or any of the stylistic conciets that one would expect from the typical Americana artist. Instead, the band moves as a gestalt of southwestern sounds and flavors with jangly travel songs, southern fried gothic laments, bordertown jams and the occasional sincere ballad.
Even on a stronger year for music this would be a contender as my favorite album. On a year as forgettable as 2008 it wins hands down.
