Count To Fire are a quartet from Exeter who formed after meeting in a record shop, and play what is broadly termed “alt-country”. They regularly play shows in and around their local area, and have supported, among others I Am Kloot and The Great Lake Swimmers. If this release is anything to go by, they will be playing gigs much further afield in the very near future.
“My Comfort Zone” suggests that we can indeed look forward to accessible folk-influenced indie. It is a very good song by any measure, but it is on 2nd track “Caroline” that things get rather exciting. Here, the sound is supplemented by violin, which adds much more depth to the sound and starts to suggest this might be something special.
“Casablanca” is a violin-rich acoustic lament, which would sit very comfortably on Roddy Woomble’s rather excellent solo album. There is an almost Eddie Vedder-like lead vocal backed with strong harmony/backing vocals, which adds further texture to the sound.
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“Watch Myself Fall Down” is slightly more up-tempo and is the most strongly “folk” with a quite urgent violin “riff” driving the song along.
While there are quite a few bands playing this sort of music right now, what sets Count To Fire apart is the sheer quality of the song writing.
There is a full-length album in the offing and if it comes even close to fulfilling the potential on display here, it will be very, very good indeed. Why this band is still unsigned is a mystery, but this situation will surely be rectified soon allowing the band to concentrate on their splendid music full-time.
Hugely recommended.
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