Album Review: Fire! Orchestra - Exit!

Fire! Orchestra is a 24 member avant-garde, free jazz group that emerged from the Scandinavian jazz scene. Their album "Exit!" is my favorite  record of its genre to have come out of this year. The albums flows in a very post rock manor. With gradual build ups and repetitive riffs as well influences ranging from a wide array of genres such as metal and noise. This record's main attraction is its eerie thought provoking vibe. The vocals are almost all comprised of strange and beautiful cries that seamlessly fly above all of the hectic instrumentation. Each horn player on the album sounds as if they are striving to be the star of the show. Normally this would sound horrible, as it is the custom of orchestras to work together in synchronization. But this is free jazz, it is every instrumentalists duty to sound unique. The only really consistent instruments on this record are the drums and the bass, and they do a damn good job of holding down the beat. Whenever I am performing a task and listening to this album, it is incredibly easy find myself subconsciously picking up the pace with the music. The majority of the album's forty-five minutes consists of long nearly perfectly executed build ups and plateaus. The one exception to this pattern is the very odd and awe-inspiring breakdown in the second half of the second track. In this section, all of the instruments work together to create a low key atmosphere. To accompany this change of pace, the vocalist really lets loose. She spouts off vague lyrics in a high pitched and almost freaky tone. She also has the very unusual ability to raise her voice to very high pitches and utilize a very, very fast vibrato. She drops any ounce of hesitation and viciously raises her voice up and down over and over. This long played out ending for the album would be a real challenge to any unseasoned listener of the genre. It is fascinating to hear the brutality of the band when it comes to being appealing. It is clear that Fire! Orchestra is not making this music for anyone. If the listener enjoys it, fantastic, and if not, go back to your radio and quit complaining. 9/10.