The first studio album by Illinois Americana trio Backyard Tire Fire (following 2003's Live at the Georgia Theatre), Bar Room Semantics is a perfectly titled album of vignettes about folks whose lives revolve around the neighborhood watering hole. Singer/songwriter Ed Anderson doesn't over-sentimentalize his subjects in songs like "The Daze," a catchy jangle rocker that coolly documents the rise and fall of a young rock & roll band, or the bluesy character study of aimlessness "31st Fall." Although the songs are built on a standard guitar-bass-drums lineup, Anderson inserts vintage synths, pedal steel, and other interesting sounds to keep the album from feeling too samey. Low-key but heartfelt, Bar Room Semantics is a refreshing throwback to the more earnest end of the post-R.E.M. '80s indie rock scene.
Backyard Tire Fire
Bar Room Semantics
Share on
Bar Room Semantics Review
by Stewart Mason
Track Listing
Sample | Title/Composer | Performer | Time | Stream | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Backyard Tire Fire | 03:04 | SpotifyAmazon | ||||
2 | Backyard Tire Fire | 03:38 | SpotifyAmazon | ||||
3 | Backyard Tire Fire | 03:55 | SpotifyAmazon | ||||
4 | Backyard Tire Fire | 02:21 | SpotifyAmazon | ||||
5 | Backyard Tire Fire | 03:30 | SpotifyAmazon | ||||
6 | Backyard Tire Fire | 02:46 | SpotifyAmazon | ||||
7 | Backyard Tire Fire | 03:44 | SpotifyAmazon | ||||
8 | Backyard Tire Fire | 04:44 | SpotifyAmazon | ||||
9 | Backyard Tire Fire | 02:19 | |||||
10 | Backyard Tire Fire | 03:07 | SpotifyAmazon | ||||
11 | Backyard Tire Fire | 03:37 | SpotifyAmazon | ||||
12 | Backyard Tire Fire | 03:44 | SpotifyAmazon | ||||
13 | Backyard Tire Fire | 03:57 | SpotifyAmazon | ||||
14 | Backyard Tire Fire | 03:47 | SpotifyAmazon | ||||
15 | Backyard Tire Fire | 04:59 | SpotifyAmazon |