Send "Fireworks " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Absolutepunk |
 As I was strolling down the lonely search pages of AP.net, I came across the surprising, mildly disappointing realization that Fireworks' All I Have to Offer Is My Own Confusion has yet to be reviewed here. Given the news of the phenomenal tour that Fireworks are going to kick off in late summer, I thought it appropriate to give one of the best debut pop punk full lengths of recent memory a write-up. Full of uplifting, earnest pop punk, Detroit natives Fireworks have nothing to hide. Taking after New Found Glory, their sound offers nasally vocals from Dave Mackinder which are kept afloat by furious instrumentation from Brett Jones, Chris Mojan, Kyle O'Neil, and Tymm Rengers. Mackinder's distinctive voice and a style that yearns for stage dives have made Fireworks one of the central pieces in the group of young, up and coming bands that is sending shock waves through the pop punk circle.Opener "Geography, Vonnegut, and Me" is one of the catchiest songs on All I Have to Offer and is a straightforward look into the rest of this album. While Fireworks may not be as versatile as some of their peers, and while they may not melt your faces off like Four Year Strong or get you down to your panties like All Time Low, All I Have to Offer will please most fans of the genre. Awesome gang vocals, rifftastic guitar work, and honest lyrics pepper the album. Literally every song on this record has at least one phenomenal hook that will linger in your head for hours, and when you get to moments like the one-two punch of "2923 Monroe Street" and the infectious "Holiday", it's plain to see why I can call this one of the best recent pop punk debuts without hesitating. "When We Stand On Each Other We Block Out the Sun" shows the most introspective lyrical content, as Mackinder dedicates the song to the best friends that he would do anything with....full text |
| Sputnikmusic |
| Back in 2006 a little pop-punk from Detroit released a six song EP that pretty much was, for all intents and purposes, the best slice of the genre ever served in a long, long time. I mean, the best. The We Are Everywhere EP distilled everything that was awesome about pop punk and turned it into a syrupy love became the equivalent of my crack cocaine. Turns out, I wasn’t the only one. While the kids over at AbsolutePunk were wetting themselves in anticipation of a new album (I was one of them), in the wings, Paramore’s Hayley Williams has had nothing but praise for the band, which probably also had something to do with the fact that man-friend Chad Gilbert of New Found Glory has been at the helm of the producing decks. Expectations abound with the release of Confusion, Fireworks perhaps don’t quite reach the lofty heights of their EP, but compared to the genre’s miserable offering in 2008, Fireworks are, in a certain sense, a breath of fresh, life-affirming air. Granted, the band are far from pushing the boundaries of the genre and sit firmly, Buddha style, smack bang in the middle of a circle a bands occupied by All Time Low, Hit The Lights and Four Year Strong, but damn are they good at what they do. And like all pop-punk, there’s little question of where the focus lies here: Hooks! Hooks! Hooks! In fact, Confusion is nothing if not a revolving door of furiously fun riffs, catchy guitar lines and chanted gang vocals. Yet not all is as it seems - what really separates Fireworks from becoming a run of the mill band is their sheer playfulness when it comes to songwriting – the band’s twin guitarists twist and turn around each other in teasing abandon, lines peeking themselves over the music only to submerge again under a white wash of songs that evolve quickly in their usual 2-3 minute performance space. While not all hooks sink deep, those that do, such as the bouncing rock of “2923 Monroe St” and the humongous chorus of “Detroit” are rollicking examples of why Confusion, at its best, can make you just throw your arms up and smile at life. Even where it allows itself respite, such as the twinkling, semi-emotional back end of “Geography, Vonnegut and Me”, it’s a moment that’s still steeped in the band’s positive energy, a hopeful nostalgia that the band adheres to so brilliantly....full text |
| Punknews |
| It was easy to write Fireworks' early material off for too poorly mimicking New Found Glory and its worst moments of nasal congestion. Hell, with vocalist Dave Mackinder often sounding like Jordan Pundik and this album featuring Chad Gilbert's production, it might be easy to do the same with All I Have to Offer Is My Own Confusion. But a few listens over reveal a band desperate to escape pigeonholing and establish its own identity, and managing to find some success in the process. At first, you expect heapings of Midwest dreariness and haziness with Confusion's rather Devil and God-esque cover, and it isn't really apparent on the album's first few rotations. But moments of lyrical brilliance juxtapose youthful stuntedness in opener "Geography, Vonnegut and Me": "Father Time is a blurred bird in disguise / who made his way to my shoulder. / It's weighing me down. / It makes me grow older. / I wish it would all just stop." It's just the beginning to an album that flows with a particularly gradual feel and sporadic bits of subtle shifts and thoughtfulness for its 33 minutes, with some varied textures and brief areas of warmer air. The band appears to prefer a mid-tempo feel, but it's okay since it seems to work and gang vocal application actually ends up fun and fitting. Those jolts of energy are great and nicely placed too, though, with something like the late entry "Detroit" and its spazzy sing-along factor. Granted, Confusion does sound an awful lot like New Found Glory in spots, whether in the riffs, general tone or the way the melody arcs in Mackinder's voice (I mean, crap, listen to that chorus in "Holiday"). With Gilbert providing some vocal and guitar assistance, one supposes it shouldn't be terribly shocking. The opening of "Closet Weather" actually sounds scarily close to the Fray's "Over My Head (Cable Car)." Otherwise, the songs are catchy and enjoyable enough to overcome instances like this...for the most part....full text |
Fireworks lyrics
|
| |||||||
