"Fighting Heidi" By Oh No Forest Fires (just click the play button, it will take a minute to load, but it will work I promise):
Oh No Forest Fires’ debut album/EP (is there any point in making this distinction anymore?) “The War On Geometry” shows the band is capable of some truly pumpin’ tunes. (Pumpin’-ness being my number one criteria for enjoying an album, and exclusion of gay shit being my number two criteria.) For the most part, Oh No Forest Fires keeps the tunes pumpin’, and the gay shit to a minimum. Softer parts serve to make the pumpin’ parts more pumpin’, but don’t descend into a morass of boring FM Radio wankery (which would be gay shit).
Like all good pop songs, Oh No Forest Fires’ songs are built around catchy choruses, but they take care to pay as much attention to the rest of the song and create interesting arrangements.
Fans of textured guitar work will find something to like on the album’s later tracks, and the rhythm section is constantly propelling the songs forward towards their barrelling, climactic conclusions.
If you like your music to spend the majority of its time jumping up in the air and trying to touch the ceiling instead of lounging around on the couch, you will love “The War on Geometry”. Plus, the girl who sings harmonies on the second song sounds hot and I’d like to meet her.
If you’re the kind of idiot who just listens to the lead singer in a band instead of the band as a whole, you probably won’t like Oh No Forest Fires, as front man Rajiv Thavanathan definitely does not adopt a traditional Bella Canto style of singing. But then if this is you then you’re stupid and so no one cares about your opinion anyways you stupid idiot. Rajiv has good pitch, and he spends the majority of his time singing in his upper register, which suits me just fine.
At the same time, even poor pitch can be forgiven if it serves the interest of the music, so quit being so rigid about singers there Hitler. If you liked singers so much you’d just buy all the American Idol albums dummy. I mean, the girl from SS Cardiacs has terrible pitch but holy shit does it make her sound vulnerable and endearing (another girl I’d like to meet). Plus, she’s on key most of the time.
Good lyrics are neat and everything, but unless lyrics are amazing (the second Shins album) or terrible (recent Weezer), they don’t normally have an impact on my enjoyment of an album. ONFF’s lyrics do not detract from the songs, and indeed add to them in many instances (like the album’s many shout-along hooks). If I had written their lyrics, I would not be disappointed with myself. Lots of them sound cool, and I’m pretty sure most of these songs are about girls so yeah, the lyrics are good enough for me. Why are you so hung up on lyrics anyway?
Listen, this is a good album and if you don’t like it you’re either stupid or ignorant or Hitler.
You can buy "The War on Geometry" here for just $3.99!
Visit Oh No Forest Fires on myspace here.
