The Fire Show

The Fire Show

The Fire Show is an experimental rock group active from 1999 to 2002, made up of Seth Kim-Cohen and Michael Lenzi. Both had previously been in Number One Cup, and Kim-Cohen had also been a member of Eliot. The band builds on post-punk, indie rock and art-punk influences, drawing on the angular guitar work and jerky rhythms associated with groups such as Wire and Gang of Four, while adding electronic elements and drum loops.

Recorded output

The Fire Show releases a self-titled debut album in 2000. It combines orchestral flourishes, electronic distortion and tape loops, and helps establish the group’s reputation for difficult and intense art rock. A later release, Above the Volcano of Flowers, acts as a collection of odds and ends and pushes the sound further, with the pair adopting the names M. Resplendent and Olias Nil and mixing free jazz with heavy metal. In 2002, Saint the Fire Show follows and is described as the group’s strongest statement, bringing together raw post-punk energy with Korean folk music, progressive rock, funereal balladry and electronica.

Style and development

The group’s music moves away from the more straightforward guitar pop of the members’ earlier work in favour of denser and less conventional arrangements. Across its releases, The Fire Show uses collage-like combinations of instrumentation and genre, ranging from orchestral writing to distortion, loops and abrupt rhythmic shifts. By the end of 2002, the internal pressures within the band appear to lead to its dissolution.