Artist Of The Day: 10 Paces, Fire

You may remember seeing 10 Paces, Fire on my honorable mentions from last year. The band resurfaced in my memory when I won half off some merchandise for a silly little Facebook fan-page contest, and I received their full length, Lakes Refract & Lakes Reflect, in hard copy shortly after. You can read more about the album on my review of it, but honestly, I had so much as forgotten about it until I'd gotten that CD, and I started listening to it again.

Lo and behold, I was instantly immersed in a wave of nostalgia, thinking and analyzing the record before Andy Wambach's 90's pop-punk, not-so-in-tune whine kicks in on the second track, "Party Hats At 2 O'Clock," and quickly remembering just how truly brilliant I thought the album was on my first time through it. I was a little taken aback by how similarly I'd felt six or so months after release, but in the early morning, on my drive to the daily grind aboard gritty public trains, the record really picks me up emotionally.

A good part of the reason 10 Paces, Fire sounds so god damn fantastic is how they tend not to stick to a single genre or sound. Some of what they write is in a strange time signature, pushing along in a complex meter and garnering interest out of sheer curiosity for where the song is going next; just as likely, the succeeding track could flow along with ease, and it's the simplicity of the song that allows the listener to enjoy the chord changes and fall into a more relaxed state, being guided by the hand gently through gently lapping waves of sound. In either case, the orchestration of each and every song is stunning, and both of their  releases show this, through and through.

Muzik Dizcovery is streaming the band's debut full length, Lakes Refract & Lakes Reflect, free to listen and enjoy.
The band is offering free downloads of their EP, available on their Bandcamp here.