Calgary–‘Fire With Fire’

Straight from the depths of cheesiness comes an offering from Calgary, a recently formed indie pop trio. Having been asked to audition for Britain’s got talent, frontman Jakob Diest rightfully so declined and created this new project. Alongside Diest, Kirill Teslia plays bass whilst Pete Wicker plays guitar.

Despite being a little commercially aware, the EP is frightfully enjoyable. The album, named ‘Fight Fire With Fire’, features soulful vocals and sweetly picked guitar melodies. The four tracks are nostalgic and summery, which proves to be an effective remedy for the winter blues. The lyrics are very cliché, which does not detract any quality from the listening experience; you find yourself toe tapping in a guilty pleasure sort of way. The eponymous track ‘Fight Fire With Fire’ is easily the strongest, having a certain rhythmic quality, with a nicely flowing groove. With the added value of sweet solos, the song is chirpy and cheerful. ‘Run, Run’ is a cathartic track, despite the fact that lyrically the same themes have been covered time and time again. ‘In My Arms’ fails to hit the mark in the same way the other songs do, being a little too poppy for my liking.

The guitar element of Calgary’s music definitely makes the album, with a smattering of melodic licks that are reminiscent of another era. Diest’s vocals are tuneful, although he avoids rawness by sounding a little autotuned. All in all, it is extremely hard to dislike ‘Fight Fire With Fire’. They’ve supported bands such as Bowling For Soup, whilst also performing at Johnny Depp’s recent Disney film launch; two events which suit Calgary’s easy going, no hassles sound. 7.4/10
Jamie Morrell