Fireflight

In a casual conversation with a guitarist from my church, he mentioned to me that he had recently heard a band he was really impressed with. I filed the name of the band in my "Music to check out Later" vault located in the back of my mind. Sometimes I retrieve from this vault, sometimes I don't. That was two months ago. A few days ago, I entered the vault and dusted off the name of the band and found the CD.

The band is Fireflight and the CD is Unbreakable.

The title track opens with the following:

Where are the people that accused me?

The ones who beat me down and bruised me

They hide just out of sight, Can't face me in the light

They'll return but I'll be stronger

On the band's website, Bassist Wendy Drennen says the title track represents the new album and is "about overcoming a defeated mentality and finding the power to remain strong amid the landscape, not allowing fear to hold us back from having victory over the things that used to control us."

The rest of the Fireflight lineup consists of Wendy's husband Glenn (guitar), Justin Cox (guitar), Phee Shorb (drums) and Dawn Richardson (lead vocals).

My first listen to Unbreakable caught me off guard because the band sounded so tight and the vocals were strikingly passionate. It is rare these days to hear a debut full of such power. When I went to the band's website, I discovered that it was not a debut, but the band's fourth release, preceded by The Healing of Harms (2006), On the Subject of Moving Forward (2004), and Glam-Rok (2002). Fireflight has been around a while.

What can you expect from Unbreakable? If I had to compare, I would say the vocals are reminiscent of Pat Benatar with edgier guitar work that reminded me of Coheed and Cambria, with continual changes in syncopation and rhythm. Each composition is filled with lyrical pictures that all people will be able to identify with, delivered in a package of flawless vocals and superb musicianship.

It is my hope that this latest installment of the Fireflight story will propel the band to receive the fruits of their efforts allowing them to continue to bring more quality music to a decaying world of musical shallowness.