LUCIFIRE is an alternative rock based out of St-Lin, Quebec, Canada and who have been around since the mid-2010s (even though the bassist and vocalist/guitarist have been playing together for 20 years) . This is their latest album entitled "Inanimate" which was released independently through Bandcamp on September 2nd, 2020.

For those who remember, I reviewed the band's first official recording "Riptide" last year and having been in contact with Ben over the last year or so, I decided to review their second release, officially out on Bandcamp since the fall of 2020. Overall, their first album was a very honest and humble nod to the glory days of alternative rock and more specifically the Seattle scene. There were some rough edges on some of the tracks, but here we are about a year later and you can tell the band have crafted their songs very carefully and smoothened out some of those rough patches.

I have also been privileged to hear some of their great renditions of songs I really love, including a killer cover version of "Planet Caravan" from the almighty BLACK SABBATH and some more legendary songs like "Breed" from NIRVANA and "Rotten Apple" from ALICE IN CHAINS. That creative edge and spin they have on such classic tracks transcends onto this album from the very WEEZER styled guitar distortion of "In The Rising Dawn" that oozes the early 1990s and flows perfectly. A huge improvement in the song structure I find are the vocal harmonies, that are not only very loud in the mix, but on point.

"Spit a Smile" has a bit more punk rock spunk to it with a more traditional and upbeat structure. If you go back to the earlier days of NIRVANA there is a bit of "Sliver" and "Been a Son" in here. Those happier melodies really shine through here and you have some well-executed guitar solos. If you have some nostalgia in hearing some clean guitars and the darker side of alternative rock (think "In Utero") you should be quite fulfilled with the sheer passion shown in "Late In The Dark", definitely one of those songs that puts a smile on your face, even when it shares more of a depressive tone.

One element that was not as evident on their initial album was the bass lines or those psychedelic parts that are the backbone of SONIC YOUTH and I find the band manages to touch on those aspects in "Gigolo" a nice and heavy number. The vocals are very reminiscent of DAVE GROHL which I would assume is one of the singer's influences. If you enjoyed the more experimental side of the 1990s and off-tempo stop and go riffs, you will love the song "At The Edge" that has that trippy side to it that is the backbone of stoner rock. Being a huge ALICE IN CHAINS fan, I really got hooked by the vocal effects of "Drowned In The River", a song that possesses some really catchy rock grooves and will surely be a crowd favorite in a live set.

You need a little bit of crisp melancholy in your life, well look no further than the highly emotional track "Renewed" that has all the essence of RADIOHEAD mixed with the subtle introspective side of SOUNDGARDEN. Lastly, what would a great alternative rock album be without a self-reflective album closer entitled "Sadness Is My Comfort", which in a similar fashion to one of the earlier songs on the album, has both a gloomy side but also an uplifting tone to match. Let's face it, that was the pure heart and soul of alternative music in the 1990s."

The band have grown leaps and bounds since their first release which is still relatively recent. The overall production is much slicker and helps in showing off the musicianship in the band. Where the drums lacked a little in the cymbals initially here are perfect in their tone and sound and really blend into the mix. The compositions have room to breathe and again show that the band are coming into their own and feeling comfortable with their sound. While I did highly recommend the first album, I can assertively say the band have surpassed that record and show a great deal of maturity for a project that has not released that many songs so far. If you love your 1990s alternative rock, please give these guys a chance, you will not be disappointed.https://lucifire.bandcamp.com/album/inanimate?fbclid=IwAR0Bsce4Nv9Puj0C-kvH26H6mMHhZYiqdQ5gKylY4aQNthXMkfoulxGYnss