Oh, Common Life

Tributee: David Mackinder Sr.
Audio Mixer: Brian Meternan.
Recording information: Salad Days, Baltimore (10/2013).
Illustrator: Michael Burdick.
With their fourth full-length release, emo-pop band Fireworks have further refined their rich, powerfully emotional take on rock & roll with the album Oh, Common Life. While lead singer David Mackinder makes his struggles with the world around him vivid in the lyrics of songs like "The Only Thing That Haunts This House Is Me" and "Flies on Tape," his bandmates fill the melodies with clever and surprisingly intricate textures as guitarists Brett Jones and Chris Mojan, bassist Kyle O'Neil, and drummer Tymm Rengers raise up these songs with clarity and purpose. Artful and ambitious throughout, Oh, Common Life may not bring cheer to most listeners, but the passion informing both the lyrics and the music shows that Fireworks offer something genuinely life-affirming despite their dour surfaces. ~ Mark Deming