Staring at the X

VINYL FORMAT. With their sophomore record, Forest Fire – songwriter/vocalist Mark Thresher, guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Nathan Delffs (formerly of Shaky Hands), bassist/multi instrumentalist Natalie Stormann, drummer Robert Pounding, and producer/keyboardist Adam Spittler – reject the what's next-next attitude plaguing so many of the NYC/Brooklyn scene, innovating sonically at their own pace while maintaining a traditionalist's focus on songwriting. Staring At The X is an electrifying leap forward from the "cosmic Americana" of their lauded debut, Survival, which was named album of the year by La Blogotheque. Staring At The X brings together swaggering, guitar-led breakdowns that recall NYC forebears VU or Television (the band's recent live performances, especially, bring to mind the Velvets with long-form, restless "Sister Ray"-style extended jams) with romantic, darkly insistent British new wave-styled pop; even Floyd-worthy extended space-outs make an appearance, particularly in sinister, doom-motorik album centerpiece "They Pray Execution Style."