Album: Cold Hands Artist: Fire Next Time (Stomp) ( out of five)
Marcus Mumford sings about escape, ruin and the disposability of truth on Cold Arms, one of 12 songs on his folk-rock band’s latest album, Wilder Mind. James Renton sings about escape, ruin and the disposability of truth on Cold Hands, Fire Next Time’s debut for Montreal’s Stomp Records. That’s where the similarities end between the two bands. Armed with soul-shredding gargly vocals, smouldering guitars and hoist-a-pint chants, the Edmonton folk-punks have crafted a passionate and haunting album — the polar opposite of the latest Mumford release. Right from the opening line of the first song, Renton isn’t afraid to wear his pickled heart on his sleeve.
“I would do anything for you,” he confesses on I Follow Stars, Not Dreams II, a feverish violin and piano number. “Dance myself off a cliff / Sing the whole way down / To prove I exist,” he yowls on Prophets, which features the cry of a lonely and distant piano in a tempest of guitars. As vulnerable as Renton is, he’s also unapologetic and unburdened by veracity, delivering some of the most self-deprecating yet satisfying zingers.
“Well I take back everything I said,” he warns on Hellfire and Damnation, He Said, a rough and ragged jig-like ditty. “When I welcomed you to Edmonton.” Available via firenexttime.bandcamp.com.