Longwave's Life of the Party EP cautiously explored new avenues, with more ideas in five songs than the band had over the rest of their career. Two of the songs from that EP are re-recorded here, the opening title track and "We're Not Gonna Crack"-- a sign that Longwave are either self-doubting perfectionists or short on ideas.
There's a Fire is an ambitious album-- the kind that wants to be played end-to-end and begs repeated listens to sink in-- but Longwave have a small bag of tricks. The best moments are when they prove what they're already capable of: decent melodies with prominent rhythms and a hint of atmosphere. "River (Depot Song)" takes this blueprint and adds a soft falsetto moment between its effect-laden verses; the result is a darker, more dynamic counterpoint to their moderate hit "Everywhere You Turn".
Frontman Steven Schlitz's voice is limited in range and expressiveness, and he has trouble with U2-aping arena-aiming moments, such as the verses of "There's a Fire". Moreover, the weak vocals call further attention to the trite lyrics on songs like the maudlin piano-driven "The Flood" or the poppy "Tell Me I'm Wrong". Schlitz almost pulls off "Heart Attack" with straightforward charm, but when the big guitars come in on the second verse, it becomes a sappy ballad. "Underworld" takes an impression of Thom Yorke's falsetto over acoustic plucking and contrasts it with a theme played on bowed, distorted strings. It almost works, but when the same theme reappears in between the maracas-and-angst of another Radiohead-lite moment, "Down in Here", it starts to seem like a rope tossed to a song that's going nowhere.
Longwave are taking big steps, but not in any new directions. The band still wants to rub shoulders with the its moody English influences, but dabbling in styles you're ill-equipped for, weaving unnecessarily recurring themes into the songs, or piling on incidental effects-pedal sounds for atmosphere aren't going to inherently elevate your music.
