Firefight - Henri Album Review

The Fire-Fight Review

Band: The Firefight
Album: Henri
Release Date: 31 July 2009
Score: 3.5 / 5

After two years of hard work preparing and recording their debut full-length album, The FireFight released Henri on 31 July 2009 – yes this review is late!

Presented as a concept album, the 14-track album traces the journey of Henri the bear (the protagonist) as he makes his way through the magical world of Elomenopie, which is seen as a catharsis of sorts. Judging from the themes presented in the album (I shan’t elaborate – buy the CD if you want to know the story!), it is hardly surprisingly that one might eventually draw the paralleled similarities with this story-concept with biblical tales, although probably unintentional, it is quite an interesting to note.

That aside, I must note that the concept behind this album is largely central in the artwork, as opposed to a clear running thread/story in the songs – like the two recent Green Day albums (American Idiot, 21st Century Breakdown); so one ought not to expect a Who-esque rock opera when listening to the album. It therefore appears that the similar themes presented in the songs are more of a tasteful placement and arrangement of track-listing, and I must add that it does work out rather pleasantly. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing; if the songs are too closely linked by a common story line, it will be next to impossible to extract a song and listen to it by itself. In addition, while on this topic, I must add that the artwork done by Jon Chan and the band was simply top-notch.

Having commented, let us take a look at the music; which at 14-tracks, is rather long. However, I’m rather pleased to note that having had this album on my playlist for more than a month, its tunes are still stuck in my head, in a rather pleasant way.

The sound that the band has forged is rather distinct – melodic, effected guitar leads interspersed with overdriven riffs; in this the band has carved out a sound that is unique to their own, instead of attempting to cop their heroes. Simply put, while we can hear their influences (in the form of Deathcab For Cutie, Sunny Day Real Estate and the Get Up Kids), we know that they aren’t trying to be anyone else but themselves. The effect of such is that the songs are unique and memorable, which is crucial for any band attempting to make their mark.

As with the album art, the songs are recorded with a great attention to detail, evidenced in “Sonnet”, the first song of the album which sets a whimsical, introspective tone of the album. The arrangement of the songs appear to well-thought through, and the band tastefully includes additional instrumentation, for e.g. the wind section in “Portrait Lover”, and most importantly, the emphasis on harmony and melody runs deep in them lends them a rathe endearing hook to the songs. However, I must note that there are some songs that seem to sound a little too similar to the next song – perhaps it might be due to the lack of a varied vocal technique… although what else can I expect from the same band in the same album?

That being said, I encourage you to buy the album at any good record stores (i heard it is currently sent for a 2nd print) and just rock out to it.

And here are my favourite songs off the album: “Beware! Monster”, “Covenant” and “Dreamer”