Fiery Blue: Fiery Blue

Fiery Blue: Fiery Blue
Writing an album must be tough work no matter where, or how its done. But trying to put one together from three separate cities across the continental United States must have proved challenging to Fiery Blue.
Songwriter Paul Marstellar lives out in San Diego. Vocalist Simone Stevens lives in Brooklyn these days. You may recognize her from her duet “Wildside” with Mark Lennon. And musician/producer Gabe Rhodes works out of Austin, Texas. Yet, they managed to put together all their talents for this debut, self-titled album.
At 18 tracks long, lasting about an hour, there is a lot packed into this album. The songs are all warm and cozy though most come off a bit somber.
Stevens has a pleasant voice to listen to, and continues to impress vocally as she did on “Wildside”. At times she quite relaxed, singing more gently. But she can turn it up with emotion as on tracks “In the Wind” and “Neon Age”. On both songs she reminds me a bit of Dolly Parton.
Other standout tracks are “Big Moment” and “Funland”. The former is driven more on a slide guitar with Eastern influence. The drums are different as well, offering a sound that could also be Asian, or perhaps African influenced. The latter is light and airy, and doesn’t seem to mellow out like a lot of the album. It doesn’t exactly portray the hubbub of a carnival, bazaar, or amusement park. But the drums and guitar give a feeling of machinery firing up. Of the simple pleasures of being a child and going on rides.
Fiery Blue is long, and at times seems overwhelming. Particularly for one listen. In a world where attention spans are short, always shifting to something new and flashy, I worry they might not get a fair listen. The music is good, rich, and thick. But the tempo seems too slow to get through. But there is plenty of variation in what makes the sounds. It would just be nice to hear something a bit more cheery.
The group recorded plenty of songs that didn’t make this album. A second is planned to be in works. The album was released September 28th through Doubloon Records. You find more info about Fiery Blue at www.fieryblue.com.
Rating: 6.1/10
MP3: Fiery Blue “Big Moment”
Buy: iTunes