The Fire Show

The Fire Show has burned out. Let the record state that its third record, Saint the Fire Show, will function as its final statement. A last tour will then serve as a fare-thee-well, as showmen M. Resplendent and Olias Nil venture forth, laying to rest their second group together (Number One Cup preceded it) with just the two of them in tow. That’s without bassist Pyx Klos, anybody who played drums with the band other than Resplendent himself or even one of its myriad guest contributors to assist in recreating the Fire Show’s eclectic madness. It’s almost surprising that the Fire Show makes its tour itinerary public, because it’s rarely possible to tell where its songs are headed. They veer to parts uncharted with violent yet beautiful sounds. That aesthetic, if it can be called that, holds true all the way until Saint the Fire Show‘s final cut, an elegiac take on the Bible-camp standard “You Are My Sunshine.” At the end, when dank shadows have been conjured and sunshine sounds are decidedly unwelcome, there’s either a certain confusion or a reigning clarity that remains.