Maybe they'll pull a "Feeder - Just a Day"...
There's unusual marketing going on in the Infrasound camp. Instead of releasing the best song of the three presented here on the CD as the single, leaving the other two to remain b-sides, Infrasound (or whoever's pulling the strings there) have released the worst of the three, "Fire In the City", as the single. It happened before with Feeder - Just a Day was a b-side to a song from Echo Park - and it could happen again. By no means does this mean "Fire In the City" is a terrible song (it's just mediocre), it's just that the b-sides "Target Sports" or the song from their demo, "We Go On" would have made much more sensible choices.
But what is it about the first song which is giving me these rather big-headed opinions? The song opens pleasantly enough - in that true rock style - with discarded feedback, which, let's be honest, is always a good sign that the song is just going to explode and you're going to be left feeling like you've just had a certain pleasurable feeling with none of the messy after-business. (I know, disgusting, sorry.) Don't know what I'm talking about? Try listening to Radiohead's "2+2=5", or Muse's "Hyper Music" - you'll get the picture. After this atmospheric feedback, they add in a tiny high-pitched riff, which, when distorted just right, gives that dissonant charm, further getting the listener excited about the prospects of this song.
And then?
A rather weak riff. Okay, sure, it's a riff, y'know, "woo!"; "rock and roll!"; "hardcore!"; etc, but I'm just not feeling it, to be honest - it's just far too similar to every other riff I've heard. Of course, then they had to go and palm-mute the guitar for the verse. That's like, number two in the rock song book of classic clichés. But I'll stop nitpicking at the guitar work. "Fire In the City" also contains some nice solid drumming, combined with fine vocal melodies, although the repetition of "There's a fire in the city!" will probably start to strain on your ears by listening #8.
With "Fire In the City" out of the way, now more can be explained about the other, better, tracks. Welcome to the world of 'Target Sports', with a far superior riff, as well as some inverted pedals on keyboard in the background. Overall, the song is given a much more atmospheric feel, which would have fit in better with the opening to "Fire In the City". This track is followed by "We Go On" - taken from Infrasound's demo recordings. Its opening flanged bass once again sets up sweet anticipation of what is to follow, and as the guitar riff slowly builds up, this song flourishes, with much thanks to its interesting chord changes and funky keyboard backing.
So, Infrasound's debut single, "Fire In the City"? Ignore the single track, and listen to the b-sides to find some good songs. Apparently their live performance of the song wasn't all that amazing, either.