“Songs That Remind Me Of You” is the self-released debut album from Exeter country-indie 4-piece outfit Count To Fire. It follows a splendid EP released late last year, and reviewed by this scribe on this very site. The EP was a hugely promising piece of work, and I have been looking forward to this album since then. Suffice to say, it does not disappoint.
The opening songs “Endless Sea” and “Just To Be With You” give a decent overview of the band’s oeuvre. The former is quite a gentle number, with strummed guitar augmented by piano and violin, the latter a livelier song with stronger drums and bass. Both show a folk-country influence and, as is the way with this band, are just good songs with strong, meaningful lyrics.
That is not to say that all the songs sound the same, but they are all of such a consistently high standard and of similar distinctiv sound, they are a good marker of what to expect.
Third track “Caroline” appeared on the previous EP but has been re-recorded and sounds more finished and sonically richer, but at the same time more subtle. Re-worked or not, it is a fabulous song with a catchy chorus and a lovely violin melody.
“Dark Days” is a very emotive song (emo-country?) that layers acoustic guitar with violin. It is somewhat reminiscent of Mark Lanegan’s quieter, more reflective solo work.
“Rain Coat” is in a similar vein, but introduces a couple of “breakdowns” where the guitar/bass/drums and violin become quite frantic, before settling back down into the band’s more usual modus operandi.
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“Sing Me A Song” is the closest there is to a pop song, being more up-tempo and furnished with a very hummable chorus.
“Be The First” has hints of Damien Rice (no bad thing) but with that distinctive violin sound rather than piano to the fore. There is even a short, understated violin "solo" to enjoy.
“Waiting On A Ghost” has a typically lovely melody, before “Trapped Inside A Box” brings the album to suitably epic close. The song is built on a distorted yet downplayed guitar riff and simple piano refrain, and is supplemented by vocals reminiscent of Roddy Woomble’s solo work – but without the Scottish accent of course.
For such a “young” band, Count To Fire show exceptional maturity in both their sound and lyrics. Recorded on 1960s gear, the album sounds “smooth” and natural. There is a certain simplicity and subtlety to the songs, but this works in the band’s favour. While “catchy” is not the right word, the songs are certainly memorable because they have charm, and are just so well written and played.
While their thus far DIY approach is to be admired, the music deserves a much larger audience. Labels should be fighting over these guys.
Buy it now.
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