Reviews:

• Pitchfork Media - Forget this fact: Firebird Band frontman Chris Broach was once the singer/guitarist for defunct emo math-rockers Braid.

  The Firebird Band sound nothing like Broach's old band, so fans of Braid might as well approach his new project as something entirely separate. Gone are the urgent, overwrought vocals and raging guitars, replaced instead by drunkenly burbling synths and lethargic tempos. It's post-punk diluted into an ambient soup, and quite frankly, it's incredibly unengaging.

  The EP opens with "Summertime Boyfriend," a song lost in a primordial stew of programmed non-beats, pick-sliding guitars and reverb. Broach's voice calls out through the haze, muffled by processing and struggling to place a melody on lyrics that aren't really about anything. As it turns out, this is merely the intro to the title track, and after about two minutes, the chorus to "The Drive" kicks in, buoyed by an actual backbeat and a little tambourine.

  The refrain of "San Francisco, California to LA, CA, USA" is marginally catchy, but it struggles to breathe under the surface of the band and the muddy production of emo engineer Wendy Schneider. If it were allowed to open up and really let loose, this song could be great. Instead, it dies faster than Pauly Shore's film career, smothered under the merciless pillow of bad mixing.

  The real tragedy of this is that the band seems to have some really decent ideas hiding in these formless almost-songs. The drummer could be pounding your ass into submission with his off-beat groove in "Distance," but instead it sounds like he's down the hall practicing. Broach's voice is similarly drowned in the mix, and it's a shame, because the guy can really sing.

  Confession time: the Firebird Band have a full-length album out called The Setting Sun and Its Satellites, which I haven't heard. I can only wonder if it sounds as positively bad as this EP does. If I harp on how rotten the production is, it's because I have few qualms with the music, outside of the first track, which is just aimless. "The Runway" is the best song here, possessing an actual form, a good melody, some ace drumming and lots of cool ambient flourishes in the background. But, of course, the mix is all wrong.

  So, to get an idea of what this sounds like, grab your nearest Braid CD and throw it in your player. Next, press play and wrap your speakers in several blankets. Then, shove the speakers in a drawer and close it. Stand across the room and listen to the result. Imagining it playing at half-speed with some electronics burbling around it. You'll get a pretty good idea of just what you're dealing with here.

  The Drive winds down with the quasi-instrumental "Wish," which is populated by manipulated vocals, fluttering synths and some programmed percussion. It's tough to latch onto anything, though, because all of the elements are once again flung like chaff into a vacuum of production ideas, tightly played, but strangely disjointed from each other. With some work, the Firebird Band could be making really great albums-- there's certainly no shortage of talent or ideas present in the band. Unfortunately, this EP lacks the punch to box me into recommending them.

  Do not forget this fact: passable music and poor production make for bad listening. - Joe Tangari Sept. 2001

• Naughty Secretary Club - The Drive, the latest EP from The Firebird Band. picks up right where The Setting Sun and Its Satellites left off. The songs are dark and dancy and they remind me of records from my past like Nine Inch Nails Pretty Hate Machine and bands of yesterday like The Cure. The Firebird Band is making modern day new wave music with an lndie/Emo twist. I still stand by my theory that front man Chris Broach must have been the lone ex-new waver in Braid.

  Let's skip right to the good part: "The Drive", no wonder they named the CD after this song. This little gem lies nestled between two of the CDs sleepier more lack luster tracks. "The Drive" is upbeat, catchy and in my case addictive. "San Francisco California" is chanted over and over and gets stuck in your head. Jangly chime like guitars, drum machines, and an incessant tambourine - I have to hear this one once a day or I start to go through withdrawals.

  Oh why can't the other 4 songs be like this one? They are not bad songs, just next to "The Drive" they pale in comparison. "The Runway" takes the title of first runner up. More drum machines and random ambient sounds start things off, but half way through some really nice Sea and Cake like guitar work kicks in with some understated vocals on top. The song almost has a jazzy feel.

  That leaves three songs on the EP and "Summertime Boyfriend" is the one worth mentioning. The song mostly consists of monotone spoken words over drum machines. The best part about it is that is bleeds right into "The Drive" without even a pause, almost to the point of where you think the first track is just an extended intro to the next song.

  I think of The Firebird Band like the character Mike Newhouse in the movie Dazed and Confused. The one who from the backseat of his friend's car exclaimed "I just wanna dance". The Firebird Bird Band's talent lies in making perky lndie rock dance music. They should drop the down trodden numbers and come to terms with their inner rump shakers. If The Firebird Band could make a CD full of songs like "The Drive", world domination could be theirs. Jennifer Perkins, 2001.

• more reviews and info to come..