Godless America – 27 Aug 2021
Intense and Searing exploration of loss on Tongues of Fire’s newest EP.
Tackling the topic of grief through any artistic medium can be an exercise beset by pitfalls. Treading the balance between the vulnerability and the emotions that it stirs up without being overcome, or else falling into platitudes can be a tricky balance. However when it is approached with all of the rawness and immediacy of what is simultaneously an incredibly personal and universal experience intact, it can prove fruitful and affecting. Such is the case on Tongues of Fire’s latest EP, Burn my Body Clean. Mixing the intensity of elements of hardcore with post-punk and the heavy, inwardly exploratory nature of grunge, the North Carolinian quartet have created a searing and emotive response to the death of front-man Lowell Hobbs’ mother from cancer. There is an earnest intensity that binds these songs together with an immediacy of sentiment which doesn’t feel feigned.
Opening track “Room” focuses on feelings of inertia and isolation. The fervent, driving nature of the central riff captures the frustrated need to be busied, whilst equally feeling entrapped in a cycle of lassitude. The track is delivered with an instrumentation and vocal style that have an urgency at odds with the matter of fact lyrics. ‘I know I’ve got to go do something.’ In fact the coupling of direct and often sparse lyricism with complex song structure is a recurrent theme throughout the EP.
Second track “Numb” runs the gamut from its crisp mid-tempo intro to a midsection built around blast beats, to a heavy almost sludgy atmospheric tone in the latter section. As it progresses the track dispenses with lyrics and the slower, heavier delivery are seemingly indicative of the morass of feeling and descent into numbness suggested by the songs title. “Silence” starts with a real groove to it, backed up by a slightly loose garage rock style drum section. It is another track with a well executed breakdown and the interplay between guitar and bass as they trade blows before leading into shouted vocals has the slight air of early Idles. The stop start finish is tight and rounds off another strong track.
The EP ends with the largely instrumental track “Inst”. Here the only vocalisation is given to a sample of Hobbs’s mother. It is a poignant way to bring things to a close. If not exactly offering a full sense of catharsis it feels as though there is a modicum of acceptance. The track itself hinges on another muscular central riff, which gradually increases in speed from a more spaced out introduction. Burn My Body Clean is a powerful record. The aporetic and often inarticulable nature of loss is captured across tracks that are imbued with a heartfelt rawness. The band have a produced a piece that delves into a guttural evocation of rage and desolation whilst not forgetting to produce well crafted songs.
