Glossary - Feral Fire

[Jeremy Aaron]

Glossary - Feral Fire
Record Label: The Rebel Group
Release Date: February 2, 2010

Who?

Glossary are a country-ish rock band from Murfreesboro, TN. The band's latest release Feral Fire is their fifth full-length.

How Is It?

This brand of rock is distinctly American and possesses a similar sense of rugged heartland populism to what made singer-songwriters like Tom Petty and John Mellencamp overwhelmingly crowd-pleasing. Glossary's songs about life and love in small towns should similarly resonate with the workaday everyman and have that charming idealism to appeal to those who can't directly relate. It's all set to fairly traditional rock riffs with a touch of Southern twang.

A boogie stomp like "Save Your Money for the Weekend" is the type of blow-off-some-steam tune you'd expect from a band like this, who have undoubtedly done their fair share of playing gigs in smoky bars. Their lyrics, like "you're either chasing a dream or waiting around to die," (from "Trembling Boy") sound aimed at that Friday night crowd. While these types of songs make up much of Feral Fires, Glossary show off their best stuff when their not performing rowdy rockers. If your heart (like mine) warms to the sound of a slide guitar, there's plenty of it, including a solo, in "Your Heart to Haunt", and the acoustic "The Sweet Forever" is beautiful in its almost breathless simplicity.

The blues-rock of "Pretty Things" adds bit of diversity, but "Through the Screen Door" might take things a step too far, with guitars that burn with a post-punk urgency, a sound that clashes with the plainly Southern vocals. It's a minor miscue on an otherwise steady album. Feral Fire isn't anything revolutionary, and it won't change your life or the world. That's far beyond the scope of its ambitions anyway. It will, however, make a nice accompaniment to a whiskey or beer and help lighten that load just a little.

For Fans Of: The Bottle Rockets, Old 97s, and Ninja Gun

1. Lonely Is a Town (4:49)
2. Save Your Money for the Weekend (3:40)
3. Trembling Boy (3:47)
4. Your Heart to Haunt (4:40)
5. No Guarantee (3:08)
6. The Sweet Forever (4:16)
7. Bend With the Breeze (3:32)
8. The Natural State (3:16)
9. Pretty Things (4:09)
10. Through the Screen Door (4:34)
11. Hope and Peril (4:29)

Check out Glossary on Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/glossary) and last.fm (http://www.last.fm/music/Glossary).
Preview/Buy the album at Amazon MP3 (http://www.amazon.com/Feral-Fire/dp/B0035DGNTQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1265528827&sr=8-1).

[CatalinaCaper]

You're spot on with this review

The music is definitely quality.. but there's a faux folkish feeling to most of the songs which sets the expectations higher than they should be.

To quote Conor Oberst "Whatever sells will decide.."

[Sons_Of_Saturn]

I don't like this review. It doesn't provide anything objective other than an excessive use of modifiers. This band IS definite quality but not for being alt-country or faux folkish. It's because it's simple southern rock and roll--with no expectations other than being a reccord by a band from Tennessee with musical roots in country and folk music.

[Jeremy Aaron]

I don't like this review. It doesn't provide anything objective other than an excessive use of modifiers. This band IS definite quality but not for being alt-country or faux folkish. It's because it's simple southern rock and roll--with no expectations other than being a reccord by a band from Tennessee with musical roots in country and folk music.
This post confuses me. When you start talking about "quality," discourse ceases to be objective. Nothing is objectively "good" or "bad" because it's subject to one's own judgment. In an effort to avoid this, I, as you refer to it, make "excessive use of modifiers." I prefer to think of it as describing and characterizing the album as accurately as possible while engaging the reader. Not only is something like "this is a quality country-rock album" not particularly informative or entertaining to read, it's not even an objective statement.

[mybreakingpoint]

Wow, you've definitely got me interested in buying this record. I'll try and snag it off iTunes when I get home tonight. Thanks.

[Sons_Of_Saturn]

This post confuses me. When you start talking about "quality," discourse ceases to be objective. Nothing is objectively "good" or "bad" because it's subject to one's own judgment. In an effort to avoid this, I, as you refer to it, make "excessive use of modifiers." I prefer to think of it as describing and characterizing the album as accurately as possible while engaging the reader. Not only is something like "this is a quality country-rock album" not particularly informative or entertaining to read, it's not even an objective statement.
Agreed on your views of subjectivity. It's an argument over semantics and critcism that will never end, so let's end it here as well. For me, I just am not engaged by many reviews not because they are subject to the writer or listener's thoughts and emotions but because nothing accurately describes the music. The closest we have are modifiers. It's not an attack on your review. I'm sure you, like me, simply love music. It's just disheartening that so many reviews fall under the same formula, whether it's by choice or necessity to engage readers. Anyway, kudos on taking the time to write your review. I hope it does the band justice enough so that people can go out and see one of their shows and know the music itself.

[CellarGhosts]

I love this band's previous albums, definitely checking this one out too. Good review.

[Justin_stacy]

damn i just found out about this record today, you know you're working to much when one of your favorite bands releases a record and it takes you a year to find out about it...