Blood Brothers - Set Fire To The Face On Fire (Wichita)
UK release date: 15 January 2007
When Gordon Brown notoriously described the Arctic Monkeys as "something to wake you up in the morning", he'd obviously not heard of Blood Brothers. The five-piece from Seattle have been screaming away for ten years now, and Set Fire To The Face On Fire shows that they have no intention of mellowing.
The vocal chant of "fire, fire fire!" kicks off the song before a pulverising guitar smashes you around the head. Dual vocalists Jordan Billie and Johnny Whitney bellow and scream the lyrics at each other, and you can't help but fear for both of their vocal chords. While it couldn't be described as commercial by any means, it does stick in the memory and there's a unmistakable whiff of early Jane's Addiction about the whole thing.
It's impossible to make any sense of, but there's an anger and rawness that's palpable (one line runs "I'd rather shoot up a syringe filled with fire, fire, fire, than go to bed with sounds so vacant and tired"). Thrilling stuff, and for extra amusement, it could well end up thoroughly confusing Snow Patrol fans who think they've downloaded Set The Fire To The Third Bar...