Fireball Kid, the solo project, but also sometimes a band led by the Maritime-born, but Montreal-based, Colin Ratchford, has done a complete 180 turn on this new album, Deer Path Turn To A Shortcut. The original sounds of Fireball Kid were just on the precipice of full-on party pop with Emotional Bros Hotline, diving a bit more into synth pop on Gas Station, and now we have a washed-out, but still synthy, indie emo pop sound on this latest album.
The party has now, years later, resulted in the contemplative hangover, something Ratchford is clearly well aware of now at the age of 30, and I’d say it’s some of the most captivating music of the Fireball Kid lexicon. The dance tracks were always fun, like, but this new sound is giving Water From Your Eyes, or some of the noisy work of This Is Lorelai, and I’m here for it. Opener “At Your Leisure” sets the atmospheric and sobering pace, a light, echoey synth cutting through some wavy guitar and four-on-the-floor drumming. The same vibe is featured on “King of the Lake” about the past heroes who make a life of drinking on or around the lake—very Canadian. The tracks also feature Seth O’Neill, aka Ura Star, a constant contributor to the Fireball Kid universe, on some deep vocals. But again, were hearing both Ratchford and O’Neill in a more nuanced and refreshing indie rock light.
“Brand New” is a bit Slow Pulp with all its shoegaze pop splendour and scratch track (the whole album is full of these little additions), like with “Downhill Jog’s” buzzing synth line production, or “Cellybratin”‘s what sounds like Neil Young-esque harmonica, to give it a really raw, lived-in feeling. “Ponderosa” throws you a falsetto curveball, feeling like it might morph into the more dance-pop vibe from old Fireball Kid, and it does, for a second, until exploding into a more alternative grungegaze vibe. The whole album is full of these full-band wacky moments. With Deer Path Turn To A Shortcut, Fireball Kid has found and channelled the fire.
