Coastal Fire Dept. - 'Radio' (EP Review)
It might just be me, but so often I end up coming back to classic records from the past and re-listening to them over and over again. Once in a while though, you stumble across a new or unsigned band that fits almost exactly into your very specific niche preference and you thank God that the music you love hasn’t died. That’s how it felt when I came across the quirkily-named Coastal Fire Dept. from Guernsey in the Channel Islands. Discoveries like this help to reinforce the belief that I am not yet a complete musical outcast, and that there are still bands out there making music that I can devour and enthuse about.
Heavily influenced by 90s bands like Failure (who seem to be the single biggest, most underappreciated and quietly influential band that I can name, and who are absolutely beloved by their broad fanbase), Foo Fighters, QOTSA and other big guitar acts, CFD channel all of these influences into something familiar, but still new. Previous releases have caught the ear of BBC Channel Islands and further afield, and one (‘You Are Stuck’) was even mixed by Ken Andrews of Failure, who has his own Grammy for production and who has worked with a host of huge bands and artists, which was a real coup.
These guys have been working very hard in recent years, and I was pleased to learn that in parallel to what we have been doing with Civil War here in London and Bristol, they have also been leading the charge with their own L’Islet Records (yup, that’s French for ‘little island’, named after their area in Guernsey), running their own shows, connecting bands and fans, helping to fill local venues and generally breathing life into their own scene, which we absolutely commend them for. Shows there have continued this year despite COVID (as clearly they have a better handle on it than we do on the mainland), and I’m glad that they have kept the flame alight while we’ve been in lockdown.
Coastal Fire Dept. are led by the mercurial Ollie Goddard, who is the ‘everyman’ singer and guitarist that the world needs and deserves right now. Unmanicured, snarling, unashamedly himself and a bit of a one-off character (just watch the video for previous single ‘I Don’t Wanna Hold Your Hand’), he has a great ear for vocal hooks and his guitar work deserves a great deal of respect. Laying down the band’s rhythm guitar and leading on vocals, his guitar playing is what it should be – understated, powerful and effective, particularly with his excellent choice of tone (he’s a fan of the classic Marshall JCM800) and his heavily distorted sound. He’s also a nice dude.
Their new EP ‘Radio’ is due for release on 4 December 2020, and the press release for the EP tells us that this release was specifically thought out with radio play in mind (the clue was in the title, it turns out). Now, ordinarily I would treat this kind of thing with extreme caution, as writing music with an external reason or format consideration in mind would generally set of major alarm bells for me, as I think this can compromise the integrity of what’s being written. But, you know what, I actually get what they’re doing in this case, and while the tracks are radio friendly they never sell their soul. It seems like rock music ran up the white flag a long time ago when it comes to mainstream radio (especially here in the UK and Europe, and with a few major exceptions) and it’s about bloody time that that changed. In the same way that I see other 90s styles, trends and sounds coming back around, I also see a new wave of punk / grunge / heavy rock guitar bands coming very soon (ask anyone who’s met me drunk in the last 3 years) to lead popular music to salvation.
And so it is with the ‘Radio’ EP. It wears its influences on its sleeve and opens with the aptly named ‘Fight The Scene’. The rhythm section of the band, Saad (bass guitar) and Gareth (drums), do an excellent job of capturing the energy and vitality of early Foo Fighters with pounding drums and tastefully exposed & overdriven bass sounds, with Ollie slotting in with grinding riffs, and Bob dousing the track with copious feedback before setting the whole thing alight with even more heavy lead lines. The general chorus message is completely understandable to any band who has slaved away on the underground circuit and I feel it.
The second track, ‘Coco’, steps things up a gear and with a higher tempo and more direct ‘attack’ to it. The band work effectively together with heavy combined guitars in the chorus sections, with Ollie’s vocals delivering an almost Nick Olivieri type scream (‘Come on, come OUT’) over the top of the music. It’s so good to hear driving guitars like this again. The song references the Illuminati and influence peddlers and is book-ended by some disturbing, reversed-whisper lyrics which sound a bit like something you’d expect to hear from that evil bastard Sauron from Lord of the Rings, so first prize goes to anyone who can decipher those, but they set the mood and close the track well.
Third track ‘The Message’ features a classy guest vocal appearance from Tyler Edmonds of the band ‘Last of the Light Brigade’ and this song is radio friendly indeed, and marks a nice change of texture and style (although I kind of wish Ollie was singing lead? Just saying) and it’s cool that they have brought in some collaboration. The instrumentation on the track has a real ‘Failure’ feel to it, but with unusually kind lyrics over the top, giving a message of solidarity and fidelity to a friend or loved one, which immediately marks it out as totally distinct from its influences. If the song was written and intended for someone specific, I hope it worked man. We hear some of the best lead playing here from Bob, too, with a psychedelic chorus-laden solo with some added tapping on top, which works really well.
The EP closes with what to me is the strongest track ‘Same As You’, with Ollie stepping back to the mic. The variation of texture in the vocals on the previous track somehow increases the impact as ‘Same As You’ comes back to hit you in the face. There’s nothing not to like about this. Driving bass and drums continue to set the pace, but the combined attack of the guitars and vocals in the chorus continue to hit home with some clever production magic, before receding again beautifully. You know a song works when you get that shiver up your back. Well done lads. Don’t get that often. The lyrics here are also at their best, talking candidly about life, opportunity, regret, and of shared hurt and experience, and you can tell that Ollie means what he’s saying and that he’s not just singing place-holder lyrics. The production here, and throughout, is first-class and well-executed by long-term producer Mikey Ferbrache, and kudos should go to him. Some more production trickery allows the drums to swell and swell over swirling feedback until they sign off the EP with a short, sharp fill. Nicely done.
All in all I think this is a strong and promising EP, and given that these tracks will return in raw, unedited form (as in, not edited for radio) on the forthcoming album ‘Connected’ - due for release in January 2021 - I’m excited for Coastal Fire Dept. in 2021. We hope to have them come over to play for us in London before long, and personally, I look forward to hearing the full album, which I hope will also include some of the more brutal and uncompromising song styles shown in previous releases. Until then, I hope that this EP does what it says on the tin, and that it makes a real dent across radio stations in the UK, online and elsewhere. While mainstream radio here in the UK seems to be slowly being choked to death by the monopoly of the big commercial players, strict playlisting and the continued growth of Spotify and other streaming platforms, proper independents and specialist rock radio stations will have absolutely no excuse not to give this EP the air time that it deserves. It’s about time that rock music ruled the airwaves again, and it would be awesome if a band like Coastal Fire Dept. could help to make that happen. (Dave Kirk, Civil War UK, 15.11.2020)