Before the Eulogy

RELEASE
November 01, 2005
LABEL
Equal Vision
GENRES
Pop/Rock, Post-Hardcore, Alternative/Indie Rock

Album Review

Wind-Up just wasn't the right fit for Boy Sets Fire. The band admitted as much on their website, after they'd gotten out of the deal and signed with Equal Vision, a label more palatable to their live wire post-hardcore. The band's first EV release is Before the Eulogy, a collection of rarities and unreleased material that, obviously, predate the 2000 Victory breakthrough After the Eulogy. Early demo tracks like "Turn the Key" and "One Subject Notebook" prove the fire started early; the songs owe a lot to Fugazi and the vigor of youth, but they still hold the intangibles of a rock-solid band. In Chrysalis, a 1998 EP for Initial, is here in its entirety; "Loser of the Year" emphasizes BSF's melodic center, while the Dead Kennedys' "Holiday in Cambodia" is hectic and anxious, like they're singing it as they escape over reams of razor wire. The last part of Before the Eulogy includes the Suckerpunch Training EP and a roundup of compilation tracks, the best of which is probably the raucous "No Time Safe." Sure, Fugazi's an influence again. But the passion flying every which way inside this track could never, ever be faked.
Johnny Loftus, Rovi

Track Listing

  1. One Subject Notebook [Demo Version]
  2. Parasite Candy [Demo Version]
  3. Three Lefts [Demo Version]
  4. Harlot [Demo Version]
  5. Vehicle [Demo Version]
  6. The Burning Of [Demo Version]
  7. Turn the Key [Demo Version]
  8. Consider the Numbers
  9. Feudal
  10. Voice Over
  11. The Tyranny of What Everyone Knows
  12. Loser of the Year Award
  13. Cavity
  14. Holiday in Cambodia
  15. Suckerpunch Training
  16. Rocket Man
  17. No Time Safe
  18. Bucket of Rain
  19. With Cold Eyes
  20. Fashion as a Weapon