Man Make Fire

Acoustic Rock band The Haiku release Man Make Fire

You can now buy Man Make Fire, the debut EP from The Haiku through their website for the bargain sum of 3.50 (including P&P to anywhere in the world). You can also buy the EP from either band member, and from gigs for £2.

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Review of the EP:
Most of you reading this will know that The Haiku formed from the ashes of splendid hippified popsters Harvey, well known for their sometimes eccentric approach to musicmaking. So, heres a new line up - which has been slimmed down to a simple guitar (Phil) and drums (Bert) duo and has been rather amusingly described as a mix of folk and emo. Anyway, the cd kicks off with The News Is: The World Sucks. Although it blatantly nicks the riff from Travis Tied To The Nineties we wont hold that against them as its a great track, full of bounce, vigour and a truly memorable chorus. The asshole rules the world and the nice guy doesnt bother cause he knows hell only finish last. All in all, a good start.

Drink It Away has more of an early Del Amitri sound to it and is a great deal more subtle than its predecessor. There are a few niggles towards the end as Phils vocals do tend to struggle with the higher notes but again you cannot deny that the bloke can write a decent tune, even if his voice isnt always up to it! From This Chair follows, which is a quirky little beatlesesque ditty that could have been lifted straight from The White Album sessions. The track is peppered with bursts of kazoo, trademark Ringo Starr drum fills and barely lasts two minutes. Brilliant, and a real personal highlight. Sunshine Follows Rain is a Phil only track and is a pleasant enough ballad and although it doesnt set the world on fire, its still ok. Closing the cd is Escape Part 2, more of the heartfelt swooning indiepop that Phil seems to be able to churn out in his sleep, using double tracked vocals to great effect.

When you sit down to review a cd by a two piece band, theres always an immediate concern about lack of depth but thats not remotely present here as the tunes are clearly strong enough to stand up by themselves. As from their Harvey days, the songwriting (in particular the choruses, which are excellent) is still of a very high quality and the injection of tongue in cheek humour on a few of the tracks always helps. On reflection, this is a great little ep, well worth a few quid of anyones money and a reminder to all that the popsong is king and always will be. All hail the popsong!

Reviewed by Kev Sibley on 2006-05-16

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