I don’t know if guitarist/vocalist Bill Steer is a big blackjack player and that’s what he hand in mind in naming Firebird’s sixth album Double Diamond, but he dealt a hell of a hand in 2009’s Grand Union, and there was no way that was going to be an easy album to beat. Partnered once again with Rise Above (who, in turn, are partnered with Metal Blade, at least as far as the American distribution goes), London residents Steer, drummer Ludwig Witt (also of Spiritual Beggars) and new bassist Greyum May (ex-Ozric Tentacles) – the latter who may not have actually played on the album; no liner notes with review mp3s and online info is vague – present a new collection of tracks very much in league with Firebird’s stated classic rock mission. Double Diamond is somewhat moodier tonally than Grand Union, and feels less upbeat in general, but Steer’s songwriting and use of structure and AABB rhyming is, as ever, deservedly at the fore, and the rhythm section this time out is as tight as the tracks require without sounding mechanical in the slightest. It’s a solid rock record from a band who makes solid rock records. Maybe not much in the way of surprises, but that’s never been Firebird’s thing. If you’ve got a rock itch, they’ll scratch it.

He’s among the more underrated riff writers of his generation, and Steer (once a member of grind pioneers Carcass) shows again on Double Diamond his inner boogie. Beginning with “Soul Saviour,” the songs push through at a mostly middling pace, but Firebird’s strength has always been the verse/chorus interplay, and there are a few gems on their sixth outing as well, second track “Ruined” among them. Steer’s guitar line is well accompanied by the bass and Witt’s fills. The song feels less blatant in its ‘70s rock worship than did “Soul Saviour,” but there’s no question to which decade the guitar solo belongs. It could be that Firebird are trying to marry their influences with something more current, and it that’s so, I’m glad to see they didn’t have to sacrifice the catchiness in the process. Their formula doesn’t allow much stylistic movement – they’re not going to suddenly go hardcore on one of these songs, and rightfully not – but as the embodiment of a “what you see is what you get” mentality, Double Diamond does show some progress. If for no other reason than that a third of the band has changed, the dynamic has shifted in kind. “Bright Lights” and the shorter “For Crying Out Loud” find Steer up front in both guitar and vocal presence – it’s his band, at the end of the day – but “Farewell” steps down the energy to a kind of half-ballad level, and is another example of the outfit trying something different.

Not that Firebird has never played slower or more contemplative material before, but Steer’s maturity as a songwriter has changed what that means. The vibrancy of some of Double Diamond’s material is absent in “Farewell,” which has a kind of underlying sadness to it that comes up again later in the record. Come to think of it, it’s not a particularly “happy” record on the whole, and coupled with the relatively simple approach craft-wise (as much as it’s “simple” to write a pop song, which we all know by now it isn’t), it’s easy to read that as a turn in the style, but “A Wing and a Prayer” – probably as barn-burning as Double Diamond gets – is more straight-up rocking and revives the momentum of the album. It could very well be the split between sides A and B of a vinyl release, the first half ending with “Farewell” and the second beginning with “A Wing and a Prayer,” but that moody sensibility returns on “Pound of Flesh” (which sounds like a divorce song) and the minor-key creeper “Arabesque,” and it’s a different vibe from Firebird that maybe isn’t quite worked completely through yet. Some of Steer’s vocal cadences on “Arabesque” don’t fit as well as they do elsewhere, and the overall feel is that he hasn’t yet figured out how to place his voice over this kind of material. The upside is that, six albums in, Firebird are working new elements into what they do. There’s still some hammering-out to do, some smoothing, but it’s getting there on Double Diamond.

It’s really a question of balancing energy and mood. Both components of the closing duo, “Lose Your Delusions” and the acoustic-infused “Pantomime” keep the darker drive of Double Diamond’s second half going, and though the record feels transitional for Firebird, its saving grace is the band’s chemistry, the powerful songwriting and, of course, Steer’s excellent guitar work. There’s still a few nods here to those dying for the boogie and shuffle, and longtime followers will be interested in the contemplative turn the album makes, if not completely drawn in by it. I dug Grand Union, and probably in terms of long-term listening I’ll reach for that album before this one, but coming off Double Diamond, I’m more interested to see where Firebird goes from here, and I don’t feel like I’ve lost anything in that trade. It’s worth listening for yourself and seeing if you agree.

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Tags: Firebird, London, Rise Above, UK

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 24th, 2011 at 11:50 am and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.