noble firs - noble firs

Noble Firs

Noble Firs
self-released; 2013

3.7 out of 5

By Dan Donley

The Noble Firs are all over the place...literally. Vocals and guitars come from Alaska, the drummer is located in California and the bassist is from D.C. Getting together for practice must be a real pain. They recorded their first self-titled EP after only three practices (I wonder how long those practice sessions were?). While there are definitely some areas that could be improved, it is pretty impressive. Mixing together different elements such as surf, shoegaze and folk, these are solid songs and have occasional highs that surpass their growing pains. There are only two songs on this EP “Electric Jellyfish” and “Skin and both showcase the bands’ talents. The band explains that “the lyrical content of 'Electric Jellyfish' should give the listener the feeling of a nighttime stroll on the coast while 'Skin's' mood is more likened to meeting your soul mate on an exotic bird-watching trip but forgetting to exchange information and regretting it a day later.”  

Electric Jellyfish has a good groove, an infectious vocal melody as well as a good rhythm section. The chorus fell a bit flat but was far from bad. For playing together for such a short amount of time the song was impressive. While the first song was a solid song I enjoyed “Skin” more. I felt the song was more dynamic and had a little funk on it. The song was a bit more fun conjuring up hints of vampire weekend. The song does have one of the best buildups I have heard in awhile. At the 2:05 mark the tension explodes with a ridiculously catchy guitar lick. Both songs are easy to digest and while there is nothing wrong it left me longing for something else at times and I’m not sure exactly what. Well, I hope these guys like long practices because I have to imagine they probably have two-week long practices to get to the point they are at. All kidding aside the guys released an impressive couple of songs here that display that these guys may have a bright future in front of them.

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