#6 - Lo-Fang - When We're Fire
Inevitably, we reach a point in every countdown where we start hitting the potential #1s. A song so highly regarded that for a considerable amount of time, it could have possibly held the year-end #1 spot. This one is the first, and with that let's take a few minutes to talk about Matthew Hemerlein, aka Lo-Fang. As I understand it, he started writing this album in Cambodia and wrote the bits and piece over a span of several years while globe-trotting. The album is brilliantly produced, with Hemerlein playing the part of every musician in the ensemble, from violin to banjo to piano, and so forth. It's a captivating album musically, and his voice (which to me resembles a mix between James Blake and a lot of smoke) is equally captivating as well. Some of the lyrics on this album can be confusing, but you can tell that the man is filled with pain and regret, and of course "Animal Urges". Other great tracks include the one-night stand themed "Light Year", "Blue Film", and the cover of "Boris", another sexually charged affair of a song.
But the title of #6 falls to the track "When We're Fire". Usually I can tell you the first time I heard a countdown track, especially one with the power of this. But, I truly have no idea. I don't know when it first hit me that this was the song, either. But somewhere along the way, the line "Even when you won't believe me, try to make it easy" struck me right through the soul, and the pounding bassline in the beginning eruprts the song into your eardrums and keeps you hooked. And I can honestly say that Mr Fang is delivering a message that I haven't truly deciphered either. Is it about the end of a failing relationship? The difficulty of finding love? The video has the handsome Hemerlein singing to a lovely heroine in a pink kimono, with a whole lot of red and blue light. It is as intriguingly artistic as the song and entire album. I'm in no way doubting his abilities as a producer and songwriter, but it will be very interesting to see how his songwriting and singing abilities mature in years to come.
Title: When We're Fire
Artist: Lo-Fang
Album: Blue Film
Previous #6s
2013: Tegan and Sara - Closer
2012: Lamb of God - King Me
2011: Nine Lashes - Anthem of the Lonely
2010: Them Crooked Vultures - Mind Eraser, No Chaser
2009: Kelly Clarkson - Already Gone
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