Forest Fire
‘Survival’
(Broken Sounds)

‘Survival’ is a desolate, ramshackling rattle of a record, a soundtrack perfect for the times when life is going tits up. Forest Fire, a four-piece from New York, recorded ‘Survival’ by setting up a single mic in the middle of the room and playing around it – the flawed, unhinged and wild approach is reflected in the album. ‘Sunshine City’ is particularly morose – best enjoyed, perhaps, alone with a whisky at 4am – whilst banjos twang and rhythms reluctantly lollop along in numbers such as ‘Steer Me’ and drag you into a dark blurry mess with ‘Promise’. A glimmer of hope can be heard in ‘Slow Motion’ but, overall, ‘Survival’ is little more than just bloody depressing.

Jessica Hazel