Flashbulb Fires
Denver, Colorado, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2009 | SELF
Music
Press
"It is clear from listening to Flashbulb Fires that this group is on its way to big things, and as such,Gasconader is more of a statement than an album."– Matt Pusatory, AV Club
"[Gasconader is] bright and shimmery and gorgeous and full of sunshine, as unforced as a quick surprise kiss." – Space City Rock
"Flashbulb Fires revel in that brand of breezy, sugar-coated indie pop that is near impossible to dislike." - Three Dollars & Sixty-Three Cents
"In walks in Flashbulb Fires, a Colorado trio whose roots lie more in the lush psychedelic pop of mid-’90s Elephant 6 collective, with a hint of the blissful but melancholy soundscapes of 4AD artists such as the Cocteau Twins." - Chris Gray, Houston Press
" [Flashbulb Fires’] songs eschew bombast in favor of the kind of smart music and words that sneak up on people who pay attention, weave a catchy web and hang on. " - Jim Beal, Jr., San Antonio Express News
"…one of the best indie-rock albums of the year." - Des Moines City View
"All it should take is a little exposure and you can say, "I saw Flashbulb Fires when …" - Gary Hizer, Urban Tulsa Weekly
“[Flashbulb Fires] combine atmospheric soundscapes with rock melodies, vocal harmonies and sometimes sardonic, sometimes tortured lyrics. The results are stealthily arresting.” – Mario Tarradell, Dallas Morning News
“We definitely don’t need any more piano-driven, overly emotional indie music, and Flashbulb Fires slashes through this stereotype with a vengeance, showing a whole new side to the American indie genre.” – Natalie Camacci, The Pitt News
"When McGuire sings lead…he is the perfect mix of tenacity and naiveté." - Tansy Maude Peregrine, The Huffington Post
"[Glory] is a near-immaculate pop-effort in the style of Phantom Planet, Grizzly Bear and maybe even a little early Radiohead…" – Cory Kibler, Star City Blog
"Glory’s harmonies are undauntedly layered with richly orchestrated horns that could come straight from the heavens and vocal harmonies sweet enough to be sung in any choir." – Dave Herrera, Denver Westword
"Glory will make you run until you run out of breath.” – David Kurtz, Bocumast.com
“[Glory] boasts am impressive array of sounds and textures.” – Darryl Smyers, Dallas Observer
“While many bands that identify themselves as “indie” today make their careers by sounding like other so-called “indie” bands, Flashbulb Fires has carefully crafted its own style. Taking some of the best elements from all eras of modern music, the group sneak by with modest, yet unrelentingly catchy tunes, set to mature lyrics of love and pain delivered by frontman Patrick McGuire.” – Andrew R Jones, The Corner News
"It is a testament to the band’s creativity that they can be as eccentric as they are without sounding the same song after song." - PresentMagazine.com
“[Patrick McGuire] bleeds his conflicted spirituality into the sidewalk cracks of suburban drudgery, a style lifelike and poetic. Results are modern and American, self-aware and self-assured.” – Jarrett Fontaine, The Reader
“Emotional and engulfing, Glory is a wall-of-sound song cycle.” –Dallas Morning News
“[Glory] is a massive arrangement with countless layers — a real score, rather than a collection of tracks.” – Brian F Johnson, Marquee Magazine
- Various
"It is clear from listening to Flashbulb Fires that this group is on its way to big things, and as such,Gasconader is more of a statement than an album."– Matt Pusatory, AV Club
"[Gasconader is] bright and shimmery and gorgeous and full of sunshine, as unforced as a quick surprise kiss." – Space City Rock
"Flashbulb Fires revel in that brand of breezy, sugar-coated indie pop that is near impossible to dislike." - Three Dollars & Sixty-Three Cents
"In walks in Flashbulb Fires, a Colorado trio whose roots lie more in the lush psychedelic pop of mid-’90s Elephant 6 collective, with a hint of the blissful but melancholy soundscapes of 4AD artists such as the Cocteau Twins." - Chris Gray, Houston Press
" [Flashbulb Fires’] songs eschew bombast in favor of the kind of smart music and words that sneak up on people who pay attention, weave a catchy web and hang on. " - Jim Beal, Jr., San Antonio Express News
"…one of the best indie-rock albums of the year." - Des Moines City View
"All it should take is a little exposure and you can say, "I saw Flashbulb Fires when …" - Gary Hizer, Urban Tulsa Weekly
“[Flashbulb Fires] combine atmospheric soundscapes with rock melodies, vocal harmonies and sometimes sardonic, sometimes tortured lyrics. The results are stealthily arresting.” – Mario Tarradell, Dallas Morning News
“We definitely don’t need any more piano-driven, overly emotional indie music, and Flashbulb Fires slashes through this stereotype with a vengeance, showing a whole new side to the American indie genre.” – Natalie Camacci, The Pitt News
"When McGuire sings lead…he is the perfect mix of tenacity and naiveté." - Tansy Maude Peregrine, The Huffington Post
"[Glory] is a near-immaculate pop-effort in the style of Phantom Planet, Grizzly Bear and maybe even a little early Radiohead…" – Cory Kibler, Star City Blog
"Glory’s harmonies are undauntedly layered with richly orchestrated horns that could come straight from the heavens and vocal harmonies sweet enough to be sung in any choir." – Dave Herrera, Denver Westword
"Glory will make you run until you run out of breath.” – David Kurtz, Bocumast.com
“[Glory] boasts am impressive array of sounds and textures.” – Darryl Smyers, Dallas Observer
“While many bands that identify themselves as “indie” today make their careers by sounding like other so-called “indie” bands, Flashbulb Fires has carefully crafted its own style. Taking some of the best elements from all eras of modern music, the group sneak by with modest, yet unrelentingly catchy tunes, set to mature lyrics of love and pain delivered by frontman Patrick McGuire.” – Andrew R Jones, The Corner News
"It is a testament to the band’s creativity that they can be as eccentric as they are without sounding the same song after song." - PresentMagazine.com
“[Patrick McGuire] bleeds his conflicted spirituality into the sidewalk cracks of suburban drudgery, a style lifelike and poetic. Results are modern and American, self-aware and self-assured.” – Jarrett Fontaine, The Reader
“Emotional and engulfing, Glory is a wall-of-sound song cycle.” –Dallas Morning News
“[Glory] is a massive arrangement with countless layers — a real score, rather than a collection of tracks.” – Brian F Johnson, Marquee Magazine - Various
Discography
Unseen Things Single (2013)
Gasconader LP (2012)
Glory LP (2009)
Photos
Bio
ABOUT FLASHBULB FIRES:
After two years of relentless touring in support of their debut album, Flashbulb Fires sought inspiration and solace deep in the mountains of Colorado to begin work on a new collection of songs. Taking in the scope of their surroundings, they were moved to create something bigger and more daring than their previous work. It wasnt an effort to indulge, but rather, to capture. The result is GASCONADER, a vivid glowing statement.
The bands first LP was known for being a bold and brooding narrative that took aim at the dark underbelly of suburban-American culture. Called one of the best indie-rock albums of the year by Des Moines City View and emotional and engulfing by Dallas Morning News, Glory (2009) remains an intimate reflection of spiritual conflict woven among heartbreaking brass and echoing vocal harmony. Yet, within the stirring and impassioned performances that encompass Flashbulb Fires debut album, there are moments where something more grandiose is lurking just beneath the surface. These moments read like illusive musical promises that whisper of an impending harmonic bravado. In fact, the narrative that found its beginnings on Glory had only just taken root. GASCONADER is the culmination of those promises and every bit the triumphant kaleidoscopic pop that Flashbulb Fires hinted at on their first record.
GASCONADER is a distinct modern take on a seemingly nostalgic voice. It evokes moments of Motown and 80s pop that are quickly twisted and decapitated into more sinister versions of the originals. The textures are hazy and swirling and at times the band delves into a vandal-graffiti inspired punk ethos full of charisma and dramatic flare. When the smoke clears, there is just enough space for singer Patrick McGuires intimate melodies and the distant harmony of a ghostly choir.
The album is not only large in breadth sonically, but also thematically as it skirts the boundaries of the concept album definition. GASCONADER takes a biting satirical look at a religious culture so prevalent in modern Middle America. The albums bombastic narrator, a steadfast evangelical, boastfully proclaims his own righteousness and begs a lover to see the light before the impending rapture. McGuires lyrics and characters are informed by his own conflicted past, one in which he was shuttled perpetually between his Catholic father and Mormon mother. Now an atheist, the singer explores his lingering struggle to connect in a meaningful way with old friends and family along with the hypocrisy of the culture he grew up in.
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Since the release of GASCONADER, Flashbulb Fires has showcased at SXSW and the CMJ Music Marathon. The album charted on CMJ for 12 straight weeks and also landed the band an exclusive licensing deal with Downtown Music Services (NY, NY). The band was also named a finalist in the prestigious International Songwriting Competition (ISC) and in the Unsigned Only songwriting competition for the albums single, Dark Ghost (Ive Got Arms). Most recently, the band released a special UK edition of GASCONADER featuring two live tracks on a small indie label based in London. The limited edition album sold out in less than a week.
Band Members
Links
