It’s easy to dismiss Longwave before ever hearing them. They’re from Brooklyn. They’ve toured with the Strokes. Critics cite angular guitars. But with There’s a Fire, the four-piece oversteps area codes and makes a beautifully dynamic, explosive album.
Recorded in a Catskills studio with producer John Leckie, There’s a Fire, the group’s third LP, sounds a little like Interpol in Steve Schiltz’s dreamy-dark delivery, the precise instrumental interplay, and keyboardist Jeff Sheinkopf’s sonic layering. But the crunching guitars of “Heart Attack” and “We’re Not Gonna Crack” and the majestic rise and fall of “Underworld” show the band has spent time with Abbey Road and Radiohead’s The Bends (which Leckie produced).
There’s a Fire is the sound of a band heading for the hills, indulging in some tasteful studio experimentation but retaining the keen sense not to stray too far.
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