It has been a long break between releases for Newcastle’s Firekites, who return with renewed vigour on their first recording since 2008’s The Bowery. Closing Forever Sky picks up where things left off, but with a bigger sense of space and an encroaching darkness. Basically, it ticks all the boxes for a darker second album, and then some.
There are only seven tracks here, but they densely fill the 45-minute playing time. The opening three tracks are particularly hearty, pushing the band’s established sound to deeper, darker corners and creating a rich, eerie atmosphere that threatens to envelop the listener whole. However, the gentle, approachable pop elements that were the foundations of the band’s debut are still present to sooth you through these sadder, sorrier times.
Later, the intricately plucked guitar and brittle electronic framework of Fifty Secrets recalls the British oddball folk band Tunng, while a brief, ghostly instrumental is easily as vital as the lengthier vocal tracks. The layered compositions benefit from production by the reliably excellent John McEntire (Tortoise, Stereolab). Closing Forever Sky is an album to slowly warm to until you eventually get lost within it, and it rewards with each subsequent listen.
BY CHRIS GIRDLER
Best Track: The Counting
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: Foreign Tapes PARADES, In a Safe Place THE ALBUM LEAF, Dream Cave CLOUD CONTROL
In A Word: Stormy
