There Will Be Fireworks - Because, Because

There Will Be Fireworks first announced themselves to the world – and make no mistake, it was an announcement they made with next to no help from anybody else -  through a debut album of vast soundscapes, soft acoustic murmerings and blistering British post-rock, all rolled together in recordings so honest you could have been watching them come together in the studio. It was a combination that, coupled with an icy breath of Scottish conviction, set them apart from almost every other band on the scene.

It is not, however, the same band that return to us two years later with Because, Because. The shoegaze connotations have fallen by the wayside, along with the ferocious delivery and harsh instrumentation. What has remained – no, nurtured – is the gentle and wintry beauty that defined There Will Be Fireworks as a Scottish band. Opener, ‘Harmonium Song’, floats over a softly struck piano melody, as velvety guitar lines whisper between the calmly delivered vocals, painting a delicate picture of something truly picturesque. The recording quality far surpasses that of the heartfelt favourites from the album; enough that the tracks feel cared for, but not as if they are coming from anybody but the band.

‘From ’84′ is one of the group’s finest songwriting moments; its entirely unornamented acoustic backing is the perfect match for the thoughtful vocal melody and its softly cooed accompaniment. As we’re led into ‘In Excelsis Deo’, a track as delicately twinkly as to make anyone pine to stroll down a dimly-lit cobbled street in the snow, it’s hard to decide whether or not I miss the There Will Be Fireworks I got to know in their debut. As the track reaches its climax, however, it is suddenly not a question I have to answer, as cymbals and thunderous guitars crash into life around strings that feel as if they’re euphorically ringing in a thousand New Year’s Days. Balance is restored, and There Will Be Fireworks remain one of the most interesting rock bands in the UK, boasting sound that has truly grown and matured – a realisation that makes the looming release of their second album a burning light on the horizon. Merlin Jobst

Because, Because was released December 18th 2011 and can be purchased here.

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