Review: The Fire Theft

The Fire Theft
“Hands on You”
(Rykodisc)

“Hands on You” is a three song CD single that contains two songs, “Chain” and “Sinatra”, from their debut full length, plus the previously unreleased title track.  This was my first exposure to The Fire Theft, but as it turns out, I was already familiar with their sound.  The group consists of three of the four original members of Sunny Day Real Estate.  Not surprisingly, that’s pretty much who they sound like.  With Jeremy Enigk’s unmistakable vocals, the three tracks are pretty and well-crafted.  “Chain” is the better of the three, and the most like Sunny Day.  The song floats along with Enigk characteristically adding a building, grand sound, and as the tension grows, a satisfying big finish.  The first half of “Sinatra” is a pleasing, soft number, but after the song is basically over, they push the song beyond eight minutes by repeating the same two chords over and over for about four minutes, which becomes annoying.  Finally, “Hands on You”, is the least predictable song on the album, it has a more traditional rock sound, which doesn’t quite work for them.  Overall, The Fire Theft has a good sound, and this single is a good way to get a sampling of it without jumping into the whole album.