By The Fire
Daydream Library Series, 2020
7/10
On Thurston Moore’s 7th album, the legendary alt-rocker takes up company with Deb Googe (My Bloody Valentine), Jon Leidecker (Negativland), James Sedwards, Jem Doulton and Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth) on 9 elaborate tracks that span across 2 discs.
“Hashish” starts the listen with Moore’s inimitable, hypnotic guitar prowess that always drew us into Sonic Youth songs, as the hazy rocker welcomes crisp percussion amid Moore’s laidback singing, and “Cantaloupe” follows with a dense, crunchy display of tense alt-rock.
The highlight of Disc 1, “Siren”, spends 12 minutes sprawling out around post-rock with both intimacy and exploration as soft vocals don’t enter until 9 minutes into the dreamy climate, and “Calligraphy” finishes this portion a bit more sparse with shimmering guitar floating alongside Moore’s minimal but effective vocals.
Disc 2 leads with the nearly 17 minutes of “Locomotives”, where tribal-esque droning and spacey bouts build into a sonic wall of noise before abruptly falling into jangly indie-rock that covers a wide amount of textures from jagged to soothing. “‘Dreamers Work” then goes the opposite direction with a light and airy execution of restrained, reflective song craft alongside some of the best singing on the effort. “Venus”, the final track and only true instrumental, exits the listen with a blurry, cinematic appeal that often sounds like it could soundtrack a sci-fi movie
A record that sounds exactly like what you’d expect from Moore, and at times not at all what you’d imagine, if there’s one thing we can always count on from the former frontman of Sonic Youth it’s challenging, daring song craft that’s iconoclastic in nature, and By The Fire certainly has plenty of it.
Travels well with: Swans- leaving meaning; The Flaming Lips- King’s Mouth Music And Songs