“The Glory Fires learned to construct music in the churches of their childhoods, and learned to destroy it in the punk clubs of their youths”. – The Glory Fires
Alright, so I have a feeling this show will make it to one of the other publications in our fair city of Little Rock, of course much nearer to the actual show date, so I thought I’d post this up a bit sooner. Full disclosure, I have seen Lee play with Dexateens a couple times, but I didn’t know that was his name nor did I know he had started this band, so I was pleasantly happy to see this band request grace our inbox.
If you didn’t see the Dexateens, you missed out. They were loud, fun, and always put on a hell of a show. However, enough about Bains’ former band. On to the current, The Glory Fires.
Born out of a hot bed of talent, Birmingham, Alabama more precisely, Bains & The Glory Fires have hit the road in support of their debut album There Is A Bomb In Gilead. I was lucky enough to get an advance copy, and it’s something special. Mixing equal parts Alabama soul and rough & tumble rock ‘n roll, Bains & The Glory Fires sound like they belong in the game. With sharp lyrics, they remind me a twinge of Verbena, another Birmingham outfit, but with a significantly larger amount of pedal steel and Southern twang accentuating the rock vibe they have. I don’t think it is fair to lump them in with all the Alabama things happening, but it is inevitable that there will be comparisons. The sound that is coming from that specific part of the US is pretty unmistakeable, and I always look forward to hearing new bands from the area.
They are rough around the edges, but just polished enough, to catch my attention. When bands become too refined, they lose that certain something that first catches a listener’s ears. All of us can relate to that at some point with a band we really liked that went and got fancy on us. It is the way of music, and I understand sometimes that is what bands have to do in order to be successful. I have high hopes that Bains & The Glory Fires will not immediately jump to that step, so listeners soon to be fans, can savor their raw, unadulterated talent that much longer.
May 18 will be a jam packed night at White Water Tavern. Not only are The Glory Fires playing, but they are sharing the stage with Murfreesboro, Tennessee’s rockers Glossary, and Bloomington, Indiana’s ex-punk and nothing but soul, singer song-writer Austin Lucas. This lineup is certainly a treat for a Friday night in Little Rock. We are definitely looking forward to this show, and hope others are too.
White Water Tavern, for those that don’t know, is located at 2500 W. 7th St. The cover charge is not yet posted, but as a fair guess goes, the show will likely run from $5-7 and kick off between 9:30-10:00.
(Photo courtesy of Pavement PR)
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