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White Like Fire

Wait The Night Out EP

Written by: TL on 29/07/2015 15:36:11

Out of "Appalachia, Pistolvania" comes White Like Fire, a "rok n sol" quintet whose newest EP "Wait The Night Out" was released back in late April. Judging from the video to the EP's leading single "You Gave Up On Me", "sol" might well be part of the picture, but roots and country elements are more so, all mixed up in a catchy rock format that brings to mind bands like Kings Of Leon, Cold War Kids and Band Of Horses. On the EP, the song is preceded by a tension-building, anthemic intro track bearing the same name as the release, and together the opening duo make for a pretty ear-catching beginning, with "You Gave Up On Me" me thriving on a smoldering clean guitar signature, a sharp Caleb Followill-ish lead vocal and some increasingly rousing choir vocals from the rest of the band. The break and subsequent guitar soloing on top of piano boxing towards the end sound good too.

So far so well, yet the EP consists of six tracks in total, and already on the third one we hear a side to the band that is not so promising. "Standoff" quickly drops into a hokey dancing rhythm and rolls on while sounding like a pale imitation of something Mando Diao would do, yet here the vocals mostly come off grating as they overreach for a more raw rock & roll exuberance, and particularly at 2:14 and onwards the skip button starts to look strangely appealing.

Fortunately, the following "I Know" finds its way back to the band's more folk-tinged virtues, particularly in the chorus, which makes up for a verse that's slightly on the hysterical side, by once more providing a compelling choir effort on top of some charming, sustained organ notes in the back. As with "You Gave Up On Me", this is a song you would probably welcome upon hearing it on the radio, humming along gladly.

Regrettably, the extent of the band's promise does seem to stop there, as both "Loaded Gun" and "Crimson" return to more upbeat and stereotypical indie rock & roll vibes. The former is less annoying than "Standoff", but still, the notion lingers that these are but less infectious versions of something Mando Diao or Cage The Elephant have already tried. Maybe it's just a matter of songwriting consistency, as it is not impossible to imagine that White Like Fire could pull off their more danceable side better if they simply had more luck penning those tunes, but judging from the available material, the band seems to have much more potential pursuing their anthemic, folksy ideas. A couple of good songs then, which are sadly let down by the lackluster other half of the six numbers on offer.

Download: You Gave Up On Me, I Know
For The Fans Of: Kings Of Leon, Cold War Kids, Mando Diao, Band Of Horses
Listen: facebook.com/whitelikefire

Release date 21.04.2015
Self-released