FIREWATER
The Man on the Burning Tightrope (Jetset Records)
Reviewed by Holly Day

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Firewater creates music that's a wonderful balance of garage rock, swing, jazz, gypsy, country, and circus calliope, resulting in bizarre vignettes about murder, suicide, love, prostitution, being sad, and being drunk that could be performed just as easily on a smoky night club stage as at a really twisted bar mitzvah. Lead singer Tod Ashley's voice evokes comparisons to Tom Waits and Andrew Eldritch simultaneously. It's not happy music - it's the kind of music that comes from being so sad and angry about something that you just turn mean and nasty and feel plain good about doing so. That's my take on this, anyway - the album feels so raw and genuine and inspired that it's about as far away from contrived as you can get.

© 2004 - Holly Day