Fireworks - All I Have To Offer Is My Own Confusion
‘All I Have to Offer is My Own Confusion’ is the debut album from Detroit pop-punk five-piece Fireworks. Billed as ‘a group of kinetic hardcore boys who write catchy pop anthems’, you could be forgiven for anticipating big things. Whilst there are plenty of pop melodies and shiny guitar hooks packed in here, ‘All I Have…’ lacks the bite and edge you expect given their hardcore background.
Produced by New Found Glory's Chad Gilbert, this album is slick and catchy, successfully employing the usual gang vocals and chants where appropriate; most evident on hometown track ‘Detroit’ with its "you don’t need maps/when you know where the sidewalk cracks" opening refrain. ‘I Support Same Sex Marriage’ and ‘You’ve Lost Your Charm’ will get bodies bouncing whilst ‘Geography Vonnegut and Me’ switches from an energetic introduction to a mellow close. ‘Show Me Your Vanishing Act One More Time’ is marginally more punk than pop but is over before it can get started; clocking in at just under one minute and leaving you wondering where the rest of the song's actually gone. Whether intentional or not, there's a definite NFG influence scattered throughout the record, and even lead singer Dave Mackinder's vocals bear resemblance to the nasal tones of Jordan Pundik.
Despite being a fun album, there's little on offer here that you can't find elsewhere and whilst at first you may find yourself singing along, when the music stops, so do you. Where their contemporaries' songs bury themselves in your brain, Fireworks just lack that killer edge. A decent first effort which, despite being easy on the ears and full of promise, fails to see them stand out in a genre dominated by bigger and better bands.
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