New Guitar-Pop Discovery: Fire Island Pines - 1915 EP

Fire Island Pines is a six-piece band from Cornwall, UK playing a style of guitar pop that, whether upbeat pop tunes or slower ballads, is all light and catchy - guitar-based, but with some nice horns thrown in for added brightness. The vocals call to mind Lloyd Cole, which is a definite plus to me. They've just released a 3-song EP and it is perfect summer pop. Check out the first track, "1915" - I love the way it opens with a single guitar line, then just completely opens up wide and bright:





Here's the second track, "Midwest" - this one's a little more understated, the guitars and the horns more muted, and whereas it builds up to a fuller guitar sound, it even has a full stop in the middle whereafter it changes to a sort of sad ballad again, then builds back up only to fade out. Extremely well-crafted:



And, finally, "Cherry Grove" - a little more upbeat, with some tension/release on the guitars:



I'm impressed - they have a way with a pop hook on guitar, horns and vocals - and looking forward to a full album's worth from these guys. This three-track EP is available on Manic Pop! Records in the US or you can buy the digital download or order an orange vinyl directly from the band over there: Fire Island Pines Bandcamp. Go over to the right on the Bandcamp link, and they've got one of their previous releases, Bratislava EP, available for free download.