Forest Fire’s 2008 debut LP, Survival, was a criminally neglected collection of raw, ramshackle, cosmic Americana that nodded to The Velvet Underground and The Moon and Antarctica as much as it did The Basement Tapes.  The band’s excellent sophomore LP, Staring At The X, finds them building on Survival‘s template of “weird folk” and embracing the role of “ambitious rock band.”  Preview single “Future Shadows” makes it clear that changes are afoot with its drowsy pop bounce and subtle studio effects. Thankfully, songwriter Mark Thresher’s fatalistic lyrical tendencies are still intact: “like shadows, we’ll leave/when the time comes.”

Staring At The X is out 10/18 via Fat Cat.

Download MP3: “Future Shadows”