By Hannah Reid
This is a band that should definitely be on your radar, and there’s a chance that you’ve heard one of their cover songs as it’s what got them straight into the limelight and on people’s minds. This is their debut album where they want to put out everything they can do and show everyone what they have to bring to the world of rock. The album name, ‘Levels’, holds multiple meanings: going through the motions of life, the various ups and downs that everyone can relate to, and about the quest to level-up and continue to progress and move forward.
Despite having gained recognition for a series of YouTube streamed cover versions, Fame On Fire is not a cover band. That’s something they want to make very clear, and in the little album intro it’s even stated just to make sure you one hundred percent know this. The first song of the album is ‘Her Eyes’, and it sets the tone for the album. It’s fun and has those elements of pop-punk, rock and hip-hop that the band want to be known for and are not afraid of pushing those boundaries to fit the mould they want for themselves. It’s a powerful song with a lot of energy.
‘Not Dead Yet’ is about depression but not wanting to end your life and trying to get through the bad times and make the most of your life. It’s about not giving up and knowing you’re going to be okay – and the hard-hitting melody bringing up the lyrics hits that message across hard. It’s a very uplifting and powerful song. ‘I’m Fine’ The chorus is what makes it a standout song for me just because of the raw passion behind the lyrics. The slight growl the vocalist has when he sings I’m fine is what makes it so different to other songs you’ve heard before, and just holds so much emotion while listening along – one of my favourites from the album.
‘HEADSPACE FT POORSTACY’ is one of those songs that just has a lot of meaning behind it, and it gets backed up by fun sounding synths. The hip-hop rapper Poorstacy adds another level to the song and brings some more fun rhythms into it, and it works. While listening to ‘Crazy For Your Crazy’ I couldn’t help but tap my fingers off my desk and tap my feet. It feels like it should be in a movie talking about those crazy ex-girlfriends we all know about – but in this instance the person singing actually doesn’t mind them too much and how crazy they actually are. It’s a fun song and the beat is what caught my attention and made me fall in love with this song.
‘Show You’ is a slightly slower track compared to the ones before, but it still holds its own and tells a story as you’re listening. ‘All you ever do is hold me back, and I’m gonna show you’ is the stand out lyric for me in this track because it shows how the vocalist wants to get out there and show everyone what he can do, and the person who was holding him back is going to be proven wrong really fast.
Starting off with some synth is ‘It’s Okay’ which quickly breaks out into a fast paced, powerful burst of music. A gunshot with the lyrics slightly later on “Bullet to the head you’re dead, dead, dead” sets the tone and the mood for it. It’s the shortest song on the album and my only complaint about it is that it’s too short – I got really into it and it ended too fast!
‘Now and Forever’, featuring Trevor Wentworth of Our Last Night, is another stand out for me on this album, and again the raw emotion and power that comes through for this song is phenomenal. Trevor’s vocals adds more levels (I’m getting the namesake of the album coming through here), and his screaming through it is different to what you’ve heard on the album beforehand. It’s different but very catchy. Next up we have ‘So Sad’, which again has another interesting opening few beats to it, and it’s one of those that reminds me of songs I’ve heard before and I’m able to make an instant connection to the song.
On ‘Down’ vocalist Bryan Kuznitz shares, “[It is about being addicted to vices. Finding yourself so down that the only way to cope with who you’ve become is to indulge in what lead you there in the first place. Refusing to take the sole blame on why you are there. The feeling of you against the world, but knowing that you need help to escape the darkness.” It’s another slightly slower song on the album compared to others which are quite fast, but boy does it pack a punch. It’s just raw emotion coming through and is just simply beautiful.
I enjoy the opening of ‘SOS’ with some quirky sounding synths that continue throughout the song before again we’re faced with another song that just has a boat load of emotions coming at you. It comes across like the singer is fighting a constant battle of not feeling good enough and not wanting to be alone or a failure – they’re afraid of being left alone. It’s emotions that everyone can relate to, and that’s why it sticks so well to you as you’re listening along. The final song is called ‘Scars Of Love’, and is totally different to anything you heard on the album before. We start off with gentle lyrics and vocals accompanied by much slower guitar, it sounds almost like an acoustic little ballad. You’ll probably be sick of me saying this at this point, but it’s a beautiful song and once again they’re just putting themselves out there.
As with a few of the other albums I’ve reviewed recently, I came across this band in my recommended on Spotify with one of their other songs and I instantly liked them and added a few songs to my playlist.
They wanted to almost prove themselves to everyone that they’re not just a cover band and with what they managed to produce for a debut album with all their own material, they’ve certainly managed to do it. With this album Fame On Fire have proven that they can put out music that is full of passion, excitement, energy, raw emotion – and they’re not afraid to show any of it.
They’re unapologetically themselves and completely honest about what they’re going through and their feelings. It just feels like they’re showing everything about themselves, laying it all out and putting all their cards on the table, not afraid of what might come, and it’s definitely worked out for them. Fame On Fire are a great band to listen to, and hearing just purely what kind of music and sound they want to put out, you can’t wait to see what more they’ll be able to produce and get out there.
Fame On Fire is definitely a band to watch out for in the future.
- ‘Levels’ is released on 4 September. You can get your copy HERE.
- All content © Über Rock. Not to be reproduced in part or in whole without the express written permission of Über Rock.