Labelled ‘geekcore’ (presumably because three of the four wear glasses?), this West Midlands hardcore rock’n’roll quartet sounds like half a dozen other bands. Whether that’s a good or bad thing depends on whether you know what you like and like what you know or whether you’ve already got what you like and now want something different.
Either way, ‘inspiring’ is something Fights & Fires are not. Opening track Chase The Blues is a punk rock ode to The Bronx and Gallows and when it gets up to speed and starts rocking out properly, you see some promise, but it’s followed up by the infinitely weaker Back Bone. It doesn’t get much better on the plodding Tread Water and not even gang vocals appearing on nearly every chorus can save them.
While the raucous, violent Cat Lives picks the album up a bit, the hideously out of tune BFF… For Now removes whatever goodwill there might have been. There are better ways to use up half an hour out of the last day of your life.
