Home > Music > CD Review > Firewater, 'The Golden Hour'

Firewater, 'The Golden Hour'

A trip to Asia inspires world-beat rocker's latest

By Kirk Miller

Metromix
May 5, 2008

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Backstory: After four albums of well-received gypsy-klezmer-cabaret-blues-rock, Firewater frontman Tod A took three years off to travel around Asia. Elements of his trip, including forays into Indian Bhangra music and collaborations with local musicians, guide the band’s latest record.
 
Why you should care: Although the whole Gogol Bordello/Balkan Beat Box sound is getting a little tired, Firewater was technically doing this mash-up of world music, klezmer and punk first. And there’s a lot more going on in “The Golden Hour” then mere musical tribute; Tod A’s snarky disposition (“who was it that kicked you from the ugly tree?”) and moaning vocals (think Tom Waits, but more intelligible) give the group a strong personality at its core. And “Some Kind of Kindness” hints at the singer’s past noise-rock affiliation (see below).
 
Verdict: A lack of a knock-out, album-defining moment is the only real hindrance to this expansive outing; it’s rare to find an indie rock band with a musically global focus (Vampire Weekend’s timid Afro-pop explorations notwithstanding).
 
X-Factor: Tod A got his start with Cop Shoot Cop, an influential New York noise-industrial group that got some attention in the mid-‘90s. You most likely know them for their song “Migration,” which has been used extensively in Nike ads.

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