''On Fyre'' is the first full-length studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

by American

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

band Lyres. It was released in 1984 by the label Ace of Hearts and reissued in 1998 by

Matador Records Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of mainly indie rock, but also punk rock, experimental rock, alternative rock, and electronic acts. History Matador was created in 1989 by Chris Lombardi in his New York City apar ...

. It features "Help You Ann," arguably the band's signature song and the best-known song of the 1980s garage revival, which a commentator at KQED radio in San Francisco called "one of the greatest singles ever made." The album contains several quotes from songs from the 1960s: "Don't Give It Up Now" contains an excerpt of the guitar riff from "

Lucifer Sam "Lucifer Sam" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd, featured on the band's debut album '' The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' (1967). Music and lyrics The song is built around a descending riff, with the dominant instrument being composer Syd ...

" by

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

, and "I'm Telling You Girl" contains an excerpt of the guitar riff from " You Really Got Me" by

the Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhyt ...

. The album includes covers of the Kinks' 1965 hit "

Tired of Waiting for You "Tired of Waiting for You" is a song by the English rock band the Kinks. It was released as a single on 15 January 1965 in the UK and on 17 February 1965 in the USA. The single reached number one in the UK and number six in the US. It then appear ...

" (the title is shortened to simply "Tired of Waiting"), the Kinks song "

Love Me Till the Sun Shines "Love Me Till the Sun Shines" is a 1967 song by the British band The Kinks. Appearing on their album ''Something Else by The Kinks'', it was, unlike most of the band's songs, written by guitarist Dave Davies. Release It was originally released as ...

," and

Pete Best Randolph Peter Best (né Scanland; born 24 November 1941) is an English musician known as the drummer of the English rock band the Beatles who was dismissed immediately prior to the band achieving worldwide fame. Fired from the group in 1962 ...

Combo song "The Way I Feel About You."

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

wrote that "while effConolly's Vox Continental organ keeps his 1960s obsessions up-front throughout, the rest of the band is capable of generating a hard-driving groove, and the performances capture what was exciting and soulful about 1960s punk without drowning in a sea of 'retro.'" ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' wrote that "the stop-and-start rhythms of 'Soapy' will prove irresistible to just about anyone with a pulse." ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...

'' called the album "simply the arage-rockgenre’s apotheosis, an articulate explosion of colorful organ playing, surging guitars and precisely inexact singing." ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' wrote that "it's the passion of Connolly's organ-pumping, tambourine-bashing persona that makes The Lyres' variations on three chords sink deeper and ring truer than most rock acts, past or present." It ranked #35 on the ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...

'' annual Pazz & Jop poll for 1984.

Track listing

# Don't Give It Up Now – 4:13 # Help You Ann – 2:29 # I Confess – 2:50 # I'm Tellin' You Girl – 1:40 # Love Me Till the Sun Shines – 3:56 # Tired of Waiting – 3:05 # Dolly – 4:17 # Soapy – 3:43 # The Way I Feel About You – 2:42 # Not Like The Other One – 3:18

Personnel

*Jeff Conolly –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

, organ and

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

*Danny McCormack –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

*Paul Murphy –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

*Rick Coraccio – bass,

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...

References

{{Authority control 1984 albums