March Fires
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''March Fires'' is the fourth studio album by Western Australian
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
band
Birds of Tokyo Birds of Tokyo are an Australian alternative rock band from Perth, Western Australia. Their debut album, ''Day One,'' gained them domestic success, reaching number three on the AIR Independent Album charts and spending a total of 36 consecuti ...
. It was released on 1 March 2013 in Australia, North American and Europe through
EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
. It is the band's second major-label studio album release after 2010's ''
Birds of Tokyo Birds of Tokyo are an Australian alternative rock band from Perth, Western Australia. Their debut album, ''Day One,'' gained them domestic success, reaching number three on the AIR Independent Album charts and spending a total of 36 consecuti ...
'' under EMI. It is also the first album by the band not to feature founding member Anthony Jackson, after he had left the band in 2011. His replacement, Ian Berney, makes his debut appearance on the album as the band's new bassist. ''March Fires'' released to positive reviews, and the album became the band's first number-one album on the
ARIA Albums Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
. It also marked the band's international album chart debut, reaching number 26 on the New Zealand album chart.


Recording

Birds of Tokyo entered the studio to record their fourth studio album in February 2012. The album was primarily recorded in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. The band recorded over a six-month period lasting until July. Kingsize Studio and The Hobby Shop in
Eagle Rock Eagle Rock may refer to: Entertainment * "Eagle Rock" (song), a hit single in 1971 by Australian band Daddy Cool * "Eagle Rock", a song by Motörhead * Eagle Rock Entertainment, a record label Places * Eagle Rock (formation), in California * Eag ...
, along with the Sound Factory and Oceanway Studios in
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...
hosted these sessions. A final week-long session was conducted in October 2012 at The Hoop Hut in
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, before the album officially ceased recording later that month. The album is notably the first album to feature bassist Ian Berney, after founding member and previous bassist Anthony Jackson left the band due to spiritual reasons. ''March Fires'' is the first ever material released by the band not to be recorded with Jackson.


Packaging

The artwork for ''March Fires'' and its singles were created by Australian
graphic designer A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, ...
,
art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...
, and
album art An album cover (also referred to as album art) is the front packaging art of a commercially released studio album or other audio recordings. The term can refer to either the printed paperboard covers typically used to package sets of and 78-rpm ...
ist
Leif Podhajsky Leif Podhajsky is an Australian graphic designer and art director, well known for his distinctive album art working with artists such as Tame Impala, Bonobo, Foals, Kylie Minogue, Of Monsters and Men, Lykke Li, Toy, The Horrors, Mount Kim ...
. Podhajsky's work explores themes of connectedness, love, fear, magic, the relevance of nature and the psychedelic or altered experience, and uses techniques such as
pattern A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated l ...
,
recursion Recursion (adjective: ''recursive'') occurs when a thing is defined in terms of itself or of its type. Recursion is used in a variety of disciplines ranging from linguistics to logic. The most common application of recursion is in mathematics ...
, balance,
symmetry Symmetry (from grc, συμμετρία "agreement in dimensions, due proportion, arrangement") in everyday language refers to a sense of harmonious and beautiful proportion and balance. In mathematics, "symmetry" has a more precise definit ...
and repetition. By utilizing these subjects he attempts to "coerce the viewer into a realignment with themselves and their surroundings". Podhajsky's work has been described as "striking abstractions of nature – mirrored vistas, engulfing waves, rippling, melting cosmic landscapes". He had previously worked with other bands over the past few years to produce album artwork such as The Vines' 2011 album, '' Future Primitive'' and
Tame Impala Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker. In the recording studio, Parker writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music. As a touring act, Tame Impala consists of Parke ...
's albums ''
Innerspeaker ''Innerspeaker'' is the debut studio album by Australian musical project Tame Impala. Recorded at a remote beach shack in Western Australia during the winter of 2009, the album was released on 21 May 2010 by Modular Recordings. ''Innerspeaker'' ...
'' and ''
Lonerism ''Lonerism'' is the second studio album by Australian musical project Tame Impala, released on 5 October 2012 by Modular Recordings. Like the band's debut studio album, ''Innerspeaker'' (2010), ''Lonerism'' was written, recorded, performed, and p ...
''.


Promotion


Singles

" This Fire" was released as the
lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...
from ''March Fires'' on 5 October 2012. An accompanying
extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.
featuring album track "Boy" and B-side "Glowing in the Streets", along with a ''March Fires'' cut entitled "The Lake", was also released the same day. The music video was released the previous day on 4 October 2012. "
Lanterns A lantern is an often portable source of lighting, typically featuring a protective enclosure for the light sourcehistorically usually a candle or a wick in oil, and often a battery-powered light in modern timesto make it easier to carry and h ...
" was released as the second single from the album on 14 January 2013. The single has since become the band's most successful single, peaking at number three on the Australian singles chart, the band's first top ten single. It was also notably number one on the ARIA Australian artist singles chart for a total of nine weeks. Additionally, it was also certified platinum, having sold over 70,000 copies of the single in Australia. The music video for the single debuted on 17 January 2013 and was shot in Sydney. " When the Night Falls Quiet" was solicited to Australian
Contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...
on 21 April 2013 as the third single from ''March Fires''. The music video for the single debuted on the same day.


Critical reception

''March Fires'' received generally positive reviews. Sean Palmer of ''
The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
'' gave the album a four-star review, stating that "''March Fires'' is a gem and channels emotion but never to the point of nausea, leaving you feeling comfortable in the pleasant tones of a band that know what they are doing." He noted the stylistic similarities of the album to the band's previous work and wrote "There is nothing here to shock or bewilder unless you are expecting Birds of Tokyo to return to their alt-rock origins with a hardened edge. If that's the case, you will be in for a jolt of disappointment, as beneath Kenny's words there is an astounding sense of positivity – as though one can climb that mountain, fix that bridge or restore faith." Simon Collins of ''
The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...
'' gave the album three stars, writing "Synth-laden mid-album tracks "The Others" and "White Leaves" briefly revive listeners, before they are plunged into a downbeat run home to "Hounds"." Rob Lyon of '' Rip It Up'' wrote "While this album has proved a popular move into a different direction for frontman Ian Kenny and his Birds, I hope they don’t completely abandon their rock roots." in response to the light departure from the band's previous works. He praised the album as a singular piece writing that "From start to end the album is a solid listening experience, offering more with every additional spin. The strength of March Fires is its consistency and how well it all hangs together, with nothing appearing out of place or disappointing. Some may focus on how much the songs sound the same, but for me this one is about taking in the whole experience rather than selected moments." Tom Noyse of ''
The Music The Music are an English alternative rock band, formed in Kippax, Leeds in 1999. Comprising Robert Harvey (vocals, guitar), Adam Nutter (lead guitar), Stuart Coleman (bass) and Phil Jordan (drums), the band came to prominence with the releas ...
'' gave the album a positive review, writing "This newfound experimentation from Birds of Tokyo is fully apparent and it hits hard. The production is quite immaculate and is near the best they have yet created. ''March Fires'' is absolutely brilliant." Like other reviewers, he also noted of the band's musical evolution and light departure from their previous works; "Progression is inevitable. To evolve in music, you need to keep ideas fresh and move forward. This is truly evident in the fourth album by Perth-bred alternative rockers, Birds of Tokyo.". Nick Linde of ''Tom Magazine'' also gave the album a positive review, and also touched upon the difference of sound ''March Fires'' presented, writing "The new album from West Australian band Birds of Tokyo has a little bit of old and a little bit of new." He took note – "''March Fires'' delivers a strong anthemic feel, coupled with the sound from the band that has taken off over the last few years."


Track listing

All songs written and composed by Ian Berney, Ian Kenny, Glenn Sarangapany, Adam Spark and Adam Weston.


Personnel

Adapted from the ''March Fires'' liner notes. Birds of Tokyo * Ian Kenny – vocals, lyrics * Adam Spark – guitars, keyboards, vocals * Ian "White Goods" Berney – bass guitar * Glenn Sarangapany – keyboards, synthesisers, vocals * Adam Weston – drums, percussion Other personnel * Dave Cooley – producer * Doug Boehm – engineer * Hugo Nicholson – engineer * Kristian Riley – additional engineer and editing * Andrew Lynch – additional engineer * Jared Hirshland – additional engineering and editing * Chris Claypool – mix assistant * Bryan Hall – guitar tech * Magic – "good studio vibes" *
Leif Podhajsky Leif Podhajsky is an Australian graphic designer and art director, well known for his distinctive album art working with artists such as Tame Impala, Bonobo, Foals, Kylie Minogue, Of Monsters and Men, Lykke Li, Toy, The Horrors, Mount Kim ...
– design and artwork * Kane Hibberd – band photography


Charts and certifications


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Accolades


Release history


References

{{Authority control 2013 albums Birds of Tokyo albums EMI Records albums