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Made in Shoreditch

I also contribute a weekly column to Made in Shoreditch magazine called 'Old East End/New East End', where I look at the relationship between the East End of old and new, looking at the changes and the stalwarts in landscape, residents and culture, focussing on one street or district each week. You can find it here.

Firehorse

Monday 20 February 2012


New York’s Firehorse present an interesting mix of radio-consciousness and, in fact, commercial savvy withslightly leftfield sonic leanings. Like an amalgamation of the Yeah Yeah Yeahsand Kate Bush, theirs is a sound which fizzles with uber-cool pretensions, but a melodic sensibility that suggests a pop leaning and a love of well craftedcounterpoints.

Lead singer Leah Siegel has thealluring visual aesthetic that could break the band with a mainstream audience(one which, these days, is seemingly obsessed with those that look ‘cool’). Thevideo for new single Our Hearts projectswhat could well be a new ‘star’ in full force as she dances around, glancingeffortlessly with no shortage of sexual appeal at the camera. Her voice sinkswith breathiness at points and swaggers with knowing confidence at others,providing the listener with an interesting mix of part-emotional vulnerability,part-showgirl idiosyncrasies.

Leah Siegel

The deftness of their approach isreally highlighted in the weepy If YouDon’t Want to be Alone, which accompanies an advert for the TopsyFoundation’s advert on reversing the effect of Aids on human lives. This songin particular, with its sparse, reverberated rhythm guitar and call to poignantrationalising could well break the band.

What we seemingly have, then, isa captivating front-woman leading a band with thought-arousing sonic leaningsagainst songs catchy enough for airplay. It seems as if the World really couldbe Firehorse’s oyster.

Our Hearts

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