LEE BAINS III & THE GLORY FIRES
''THERE IS A BOMB IN GILEAD''
MAY 15 2012
38:45
1. Ain't No Stranger/4:25
2. Centreville/3:00
3. Reba/3:24
4. Choctaw Summer/3:02
5. Magic City Stomp!/2:23
6. Everything You Took/3:48
7. Righteous, Ragged Songs/3:07
8. The Red, Red Dirt of Home/4:12
9. Roebuck Parkway/2:51
10. Opelika/4:06
11. There is a Bomb in Gilead/4:28
Lee Bains III /Guitar, Keyboards, Theremin, Vocals
Lynn Bridges /Percussion
Justin Colburn /Bass, Hollers
Trey McLemore /Vocals
Matt Patton /Hollers
Blake Williamson /Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Matt Wurtele /Guitar, Hollers
REVIEW
by Mark Deming
Lee Bains III is a proud son of the state of Alabama, and he also studied literature in New York for a spell, and you can hear evidence of both on There Is a Bomb in Gilead, his debut album with his band the Glory Fires. Between the twang in Bains' voice, the twang in his guitars, and the plaintive howl of the melodies, this music is Southern by the grace of God, and Bains and his bandmates -- guitarist Matt Wurtele, bassist Justin Colburn, and drummer Blake Williamson -- aren't afraid to show their colors, whether it's on the R&B-influenced groove of "Everything You Took," the C&W weeper "Reba," the old-school Southern rock strut of "Righteous, Ragged Songs," or the high-speed buzz of "Centreville." While Bains talks a good game about punk rock in his lyrics, this music is less about high-velocity grit than the homey texture of red dirt, and the band's instincts and feel are pretty undeniable here, sounding as natural and as potent as a jar of iced tea and bourbon. But Bains also knows how to tell a good, compelling story with an interesting set of characters, and he successfully walks a fine line between letting his literate instincts have their day and keeping these stories unpretentious and realistic, and if losing your Ramones T-shirt and your Walker Percy novels to your ex-girlfriend seems like especially bad luck, in this context it makes sense. For a debut album, There Is a Bomb in Gilead sounds remarkably confident and assured, and Bains and the Glory Fires clearly know how to write fine songs and make them move in the studio; this is a band worth watching, and an album that deserves your attention.
BIOGRAPHY
by Mark Deming Lee Bains III & the Glory Fires are an Alabama-based rock band whose music is informed by the swagger of classic Southern rock, the energy and attitude of punk, the intelligence and personal lyrical stance of indie rock, and the deep grooves of R&B. The group was formed in 2010 by guitarist, lead vocalist, and principal songwriter Lee Bains III. Born and bred in Alabama, Bains attended a Christian school as a child and his first musical experiences came from singing in church. In his teens, Bains developed an interested in writing, and he studied literature at a college in New York, but when he returned to Alabama, he re-focused his attention on music. Bains was a big fan of Tuscaloosa's Southern rock revivalists the Dexateens, and in 2008 he joined the group as a guitarist. Bains spent two years with the Dexateens, but in 2010 the group went on hiatus, and Bains began launching a new project.
While in the Dexateens, Bains and some friends from Birmingham's Glen Iris neighborhood had formed an acoustic group to play old-school gospel tunes at a local homeless shelter, taking up the name the Glen Iris Glorifiers. The name soon evolved into the Glory Fires, and Bains revived the handle for his post-Dexateens group. Recruiting guitarist Matt Wurtele, bassist Justin Colburn (formerly of Arkadelphia and Model Citizen), and drummer Blake Williamson (who had worked with Taylor Hollingsworth, Dan Sartain, and Black Willis), the new combo began hitting the Alabama club circuit. While Bains was offered a songwriting contract as a solo act, he opted to stick with the band, and they began drawing an impressive following in the Southern states. After cutting an album-length demo with producer Tim Kerr, Bains and the Glory Fires signed a deal with Alive Naturalsound Records, and went into the studio with producer and engineer Lynn Bridges to begin work on their first LP. Recorded by Bridges in Water Valley, Mississippi and mixed by Jim Diamond in Detroit, the Glory Fires' debut album, There Is a Bomb in Gilead (the title came from Bains' childhood misunderstanding of an old gospel lyric), was released in the spring of 2012.
''THERE IS A BOMB IN GILEAD''
MAY 15 2012
38:45
1. Ain't No Stranger/4:25
2. Centreville/3:00
3. Reba/3:24
4. Choctaw Summer/3:02
5. Magic City Stomp!/2:23
6. Everything You Took/3:48
7. Righteous, Ragged Songs/3:07
8. The Red, Red Dirt of Home/4:12
9. Roebuck Parkway/2:51
10. Opelika/4:06
11. There is a Bomb in Gilead/4:28
Lee Bains III /Guitar, Keyboards, Theremin, Vocals
Lynn Bridges /Percussion
Justin Colburn /Bass, Hollers
Trey McLemore /Vocals
Matt Patton /Hollers
Blake Williamson /Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Matt Wurtele /Guitar, Hollers
REVIEW
by Mark Deming
Lee Bains III is a proud son of the state of Alabama, and he also studied literature in New York for a spell, and you can hear evidence of both on There Is a Bomb in Gilead, his debut album with his band the Glory Fires. Between the twang in Bains' voice, the twang in his guitars, and the plaintive howl of the melodies, this music is Southern by the grace of God, and Bains and his bandmates -- guitarist Matt Wurtele, bassist Justin Colburn, and drummer Blake Williamson -- aren't afraid to show their colors, whether it's on the R&B-influenced groove of "Everything You Took," the C&W weeper "Reba," the old-school Southern rock strut of "Righteous, Ragged Songs," or the high-speed buzz of "Centreville." While Bains talks a good game about punk rock in his lyrics, this music is less about high-velocity grit than the homey texture of red dirt, and the band's instincts and feel are pretty undeniable here, sounding as natural and as potent as a jar of iced tea and bourbon. But Bains also knows how to tell a good, compelling story with an interesting set of characters, and he successfully walks a fine line between letting his literate instincts have their day and keeping these stories unpretentious and realistic, and if losing your Ramones T-shirt and your Walker Percy novels to your ex-girlfriend seems like especially bad luck, in this context it makes sense. For a debut album, There Is a Bomb in Gilead sounds remarkably confident and assured, and Bains and the Glory Fires clearly know how to write fine songs and make them move in the studio; this is a band worth watching, and an album that deserves your attention.
BIOGRAPHY
by Mark Deming Lee Bains III & the Glory Fires are an Alabama-based rock band whose music is informed by the swagger of classic Southern rock, the energy and attitude of punk, the intelligence and personal lyrical stance of indie rock, and the deep grooves of R&B. The group was formed in 2010 by guitarist, lead vocalist, and principal songwriter Lee Bains III. Born and bred in Alabama, Bains attended a Christian school as a child and his first musical experiences came from singing in church. In his teens, Bains developed an interested in writing, and he studied literature at a college in New York, but when he returned to Alabama, he re-focused his attention on music. Bains was a big fan of Tuscaloosa's Southern rock revivalists the Dexateens, and in 2008 he joined the group as a guitarist. Bains spent two years with the Dexateens, but in 2010 the group went on hiatus, and Bains began launching a new project.
While in the Dexateens, Bains and some friends from Birmingham's Glen Iris neighborhood had formed an acoustic group to play old-school gospel tunes at a local homeless shelter, taking up the name the Glen Iris Glorifiers. The name soon evolved into the Glory Fires, and Bains revived the handle for his post-Dexateens group. Recruiting guitarist Matt Wurtele, bassist Justin Colburn (formerly of Arkadelphia and Model Citizen), and drummer Blake Williamson (who had worked with Taylor Hollingsworth, Dan Sartain, and Black Willis), the new combo began hitting the Alabama club circuit. While Bains was offered a songwriting contract as a solo act, he opted to stick with the band, and they began drawing an impressive following in the Southern states. After cutting an album-length demo with producer Tim Kerr, Bains and the Glory Fires signed a deal with Alive Naturalsound Records, and went into the studio with producer and engineer Lynn Bridges to begin work on their first LP. Recorded by Bridges in Water Valley, Mississippi and mixed by Jim Diamond in Detroit, the Glory Fires' debut album, There Is a Bomb in Gilead (the title came from Bains' childhood misunderstanding of an old gospel lyric), was released in the spring of 2012.
