Backyard Tire Fire - The Places We Lived

Genre rock Publisher Hyena

Backyard Tire Fire is first and foremost a rock n’ roll band.  Ever since the trio formed in 2001, there has been an insistence on doing things the old-fashioned way – recording with analog studio equipment and having everyone play together in-studio to capture the straight and true ambience of rock n’ roll records of yore.  With 2007’s Vagabonds and Hooligans, Backyard Tire Fire established themselves as forerunners of raw, unfiltered rock. 

Their latest effort, The Places We Lived, is a sort of departure from their previous work.  The boys are more open to experimenting with strings, horns, and ambient noise here.  They have expanded their palette of sounds and, in doing so, they have sharpened the emotional impact of their songs.  But their music retains the honesty and immediacy of a great rock record.  The result is an album that pulls you in with all the force of rock n’ roll, but taps into memories and feelings as only a folk singer can.    

The title track starts the album off with a down-home, laidback bang.  The song isn’t the straight ahead rock n’ roll that people fell in love with on their previous releases.  The band has strayed somewhat from their traditional rock roots, incorporating a light synth melody and a horn section that sounds like it came off a jazz record from the 1930s. 

Lead singer/guitarist Ed Anderson hasn’t let the sonic experimentation affect his songwriting.  In fact, his lyrics act as a stark counterpoint to the band’s urge to mix their hard-edged rock with synthesizers and string arrangements.  On the title track, Anderson sings with regret as he remembers the places he called home and realizes he can only relive that feeling of belonging in his memories. 

"Shoulda Shut It" is pop-rock at its finest.  The piano and keyboards take the lead on this song, giving it an airy, sweeping quality.  The chorus seems like it was made for people to sing along. 

"Welcome to the Factory" is an old-fashioned rock song that gives a wink and a nod to the nuts and bolts styling of early Tom Petty.  The song screeches, howls, and booms, highlighting the boring, never-ending dead-end nature of work in a factory.  Ed Anderson’s vocals pulsate with an urgency and desperation that conjure up images of working some mindless job on a car assembly line.

The familiar down home rock n’ roll of the past continues on "How Did the Hell Did You Get Back Here."  Anderson’s guitar work is raw and jangly, reminiscent of Peter Buck’s work on the early REM classic, "Pretty Persuasion." 

"One Wrong Turn" is old-style blues straight from the heart of the South.  The rusty piano ekes out ghostly melodies that sound at home in a saloon and Anderson’s voice drenches you in loss and isolation.  The song is as much a cautionary tale about heeding the wisdom of those around you as it is about learning from your mistakes.

The album comes full circle and closes on a hopeful note on "Home Today," with Anderson looking to the present instead of the past for a place to call home.  Indeed, The Places We Lived lingers in the mind because of Anderson’s talent for weaving stories that touch on universal themes such as the passage of time and what it means to have a home.
 
There’s no question about it,  The Places We Lived is a turning point for Backyard Tire Fire.  With this album, the band manage the impossible – staying true to their rock n’ roll ethos while reaching out for new sounds and instruments to forge a style that is all their own.