Full disclosure: I did not buy this record for myself. My friend Curtis is part owner of Chorus of One records and handles their Stateside distro. I designed some promos for him when this record was coming out, so when the vinyl came in, he gave me a copy for my efforts.
That said, I didn’t expect to like it this much. (I didn’t know what to expect, actually). All I had to go on was his vague description of them as a French hardcore band. These days, “hardcore” is a pretty broad moniker, covering everything from early-mewithoutYou-soundalikes to screamy shoegaze bands (I’ve heard plenty of both at local basement shows). Fire At Will however plays the kind of hardcore that I would have loved in high school in the early ‘00s. Teeming with pop punk energy and a great sense of melody, this record lives somewhere between early Thrice and the Ataris–there’s some Rufio in there too. Which, fifteen years ago, I would have flipped for.