Glossary – Feral Fire
Few bands excite us as much as Murfreesboro, Tennessee’s own, Glossary. Glossary is a five-piece, fronted by Joey Kneiser, and this February 2nd, they will release Feral Fire. Feral Fire takes it’s title from Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, but unlike the dark and ominous novel, Feral Fire is a joyous uproar of American Rock and Roll. We last heard from Glossary in 2008, when the band released The Better Angels of Our Nature, a free download of ten simply fantastic songs. It was the first we had heard of the band and even after a few short spins, they quickly catapulted themselves into very heavy rotation here on The Porch. Hell, I even flew out to Austin for SXSW in 2008 solely to see the band play live. (this March the entire FPM team will be doing the same)
Feral Fire isn’t exactly a radical departure for the band, but it certainly sounds like the group is a tighter, more cohesive unit. It sounds like the gang was listening to a whole lot of Thin Lizzy as the first three tracks, Lonely is a Town, Save Your Money for the Weekend and Trembling Boy, all sound like cousins to some of Phil Lynott’s best work. What impresses me about this record is that there isn’t much filler at all here. Usually, with a band that is as productive as Glossary, you’re bound to get more than your fair share of clunkers to round out albums. Joey Kneiser and Todd Beane manage to write some of their best work on Feral Fire, making a record that doesn’t need any shuffling through tracks. Beane, for example, contributes two of the coolest songs I’ve heard all year. In fact, No Guarantee is my favorite track on the record at the moment and I really enjoy the third verse where Beane writes “She said “I aint seen you since 1993/ When you comin’ home? you got all ‘Tennessee’ on me.” The track, which I believe is about Beane’s life as a traveling musician, serves as a nice reminder that there is more than one contributor writing these tracks of hope and peril. Speaking of, Beane’s other contribution, Hope and Peril (like what I did there?), is a more than worthy closing track to Feral Fire. While not as immediate as Better Angel’s closer, Blood on the Knobs, Hope and Peril is a song that just keeps growing on you. When I first heard it, I wasn’t a huge fan. After a few spins, I simply cannot get the damn thing out of my dome.
Most of the themes Glossary is known for; Southern sensibilities, religion, women, liquor and the trails and tribulations of being a musician are all still here. Yet, the band expands on these themes musically by expanding on their Southern Rock sound by adding the bluesy All Your Pretty Things or by adding new vocal harmonies like on the standout track, Your Heart to Haunt.
All in all, this is a very solid release from one of our very favorite bands. It is hard for me to really give an even-handed review since any Glossary release is sure to be a favorite, but I hope I’m at least painting a picture of how a layperson might react to hearing the record and band for the first time. Glossary is a group that has toured with The Drive-By Truckers, Lucero, Against Me!, The Whigs, as well as countless other bands that have really gained a head of steam in the last few years. Joey Kneiser’s songs, in my opinion, hold up just as well as many of the bands the group has shared a stage with. I think this is a record that will get them a bit more exposure outside of the Southern states, and hopefully allow them to go on a proper headlining tour out West where we are. Glossary brings it live every time they play, and it is a real bummer that I’ve only been able to see the band play 30 minute sets the few times I’ve seen them. Here’s to 2010 being a real breakout year for the band. With the release of Feral Fire, they are certainly off to a great start…
Save Your Money for the Weekend
Your Heart to Haunt
No Guarantee
All Your Pretty Things
www.glossary.us
www.myspace.com/glossary
