Flash Like Fire - Wide Awake

Flash Like Fire

Wide Awake
self-released; 2016

3.5 out of 5

By Jamie Funk
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Dan Rosenberg (vocals/guitar), Justin Carls (guitar), Steve Poirier (drums) and Aaron Mihalko (bass) formed Flash Like Fire in 2014. They recently released their debut EP Wide Awake, which contains four songs. The band has said that their music “is a throwback to ‘90s alternative rock with modern day influences to boot.” I would say that's a fair assessment.

The production and style of music feels more aligned with the last half of the ‘90s than the first five years. I was reminded of the production style heard in alternative music post Nirvana.  Their music is refined with high production value not unlike the aesthetics you might hear on an album by Linkin Park.

All things considered in 2016 I feel like this style in more apt to reside on the FM dial than in the underground. The songs veer away from popular indie rock bands like Grizzly Bear, Local Natives, Arcade Fire and Parquet Courts.

All four songs have a similar vibe, which is explosive and intense. Even during the verses you can feel something is brewing. Take for instance “Director.” The band shows off some their technical skill especially the drummer. Once the bridge kicks into the chorus it has ‘90s written all over it. Anyone growing up that era will recognize what I’m talking about. The song is solid. It’s well crafted and unavoidable even at low volumes.

The second track “Endless & Open” is even more explosive than the opener. You can hear a tinge of Smashing Pumpkins during the guitar solo but I can’t say Rosenberg sings anything like Corgan. They close with “Wide Awake” which feels straight from the post-grunge era and the most single worthy and commercially viable song of the four. 

​Overall, it’s hard to say where this type of music will land these days. There was certainly an audience for it ten to fifteen years ago but people in their twenties today don’t seem to be as keen to post-grunge as they are to genres like EDM, post-rock or the other popular genres of today. Either way it seems obvious Flash like Fire is playing the music they want to and not what is trending at the moment. There will always be a percentage of the population who will appreciate that.

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