The Fire Theft
It might look essentially like aSunny Day Real Estatereunion record, but Fire Theft is decidedly a more focused, and far less conflicted band. The overall sound is still a poignant mix of dramatic indie-rock with histrionic punk rock energy, and three of the four emo originators are here--singer/guitarist Jeremy Enigk, bassist Nate Mendel, drummer William Goldsmith--but Fire Theft sounds arena-ready from the get-go. Embracing their inner rock stars, their debut is trippy but smart, as likely to appeal to fans ofPhishandRushas Sunny Day's many imitators. This album has sweetly self-effacing bedroom anthems such as "Houses" and mid-tempo minor-keyed anthems like "Waste Time." ButFire Theftexplodes with the energy of classic arena rock while the artsy instrumentals seem to have come from a long summer atRobert Frippguitar camp. At times it devolves into pompous camp ("Uncle Mountain") but overall this is a lovely, sweeping album.--Mike McGonigal