Driving home from work tonight, listening to Beirut's Gulag Orkestar (thanks Brent) while the windshield washing fluid froze into long crystals on the window, I couldn't help but find a little peace behind the wheel, surrounded by cold, with only my pale headlights illuminating the path ahead against the embankments of snow that hugged the road.
Should you find yourself in such a setting (or need to rely on some music to make you at least feel like you're there) and don't have a copy of Gulag Orkestar handy, why not take a chance on The Theater Fire's latest release Matter and Light.
The third EP from the Forth Worth group, Matter and Light, was released independently this past Tuesday. The Theater Fire spin yarns about drifters, hangmen, brothers, and lovers grappling with their own honor, trust, guilt and loss. These tales are woven together by arrangements that include weeping pedal steel and violin, strains of accordion, mandolin and xylophone, plucked banjo and guitar, sorrowful brass and the clip-clop of found percussion. The songs combine influences as diverse as zydeco, bluegrass, mariachi, country, gospel and rock and roll - yet somehow remain unmistakably The Theater Fire.
We agree with Fort Worth Weekly's assessment that "It sounds at once urban and rustic, modern and very, very old." We think it will provide the perfect soundtrack to an early Christmas campfire with the yule log, even if it's just with your friends Jack, Jose, and Johnnie. Have a listen below:
The Theater Fire - "Uncle Wayne"
Want to learn more about The Theater Fire? Check out their Myspace page.