With their brand new dream-themed EP The Noise Around The Mean set to drop on the populous this Saturday at Lee’s Palace, Toronto pop-rock five-piece (and iM Feb. 2012 Featured Artist) THE FIRES OF are pulling out all the stops.

They’ve apparently got another six bed tracks hidden away, recorded during The Noise Around The Mean studio sessions, and are looking forward to finishing them off at a later date along with some other new material before setting out on a tour… if they ever get around to planning it.

For now, bask in the glory of some of the band’s influences (well, Stephen and Graeme’s at least) in the streaming player below and read up on their thoughts about each of the artists.

The iM is super-stoaked to be hanging out with them this Saturday; if you know what’s good for you, that’s where you’ll be too ;)

The Facebook event is HERE by the way…

SUEDE – The Drowners
Just prior to recording the new EP, I was looking to add a musical spark to “One Decent Thing”, when this song came on my iPod and the amazing guitar part that starts in the fade-out leapt out at me. Some inferior Bernard Butler-style guitar playing later, and “One Decent Thing” might be the rockingest thing we’ve recorded.
- Graeme

THE RUBY SPIRIT – From You It’s True
Best indie band in my opinion and this track showcases the groove and theatricality that is The Ruby Spirit. There’s also a trademark Alex Pulec solo on the track that fits the song perfectly and winds into the harmony/keyboard laden breakdown before building back up to that simple but epic guitar reprise of the main vocal melody climaxing with Paige’s fantastic “Oh”s. Great sound. Great track.
- Steve

WINGS – Get On The Right Thing
I love how this song starts sounding so organized, but by the end has an out-of-control sense of chaos. In an ideal world, all our songs would end with the entire band screaming out vocals and harmonies. Also, the song speeds up considerably from start to finish, which makes me wistfully long for the days when click-tracks weren’t so ubiquitous. I’m pretty sure that’s unsung session master guitarist Hugh McCracken killing it with those guitar parts.
- Graeme

BJORK – Army Of Me
BJORK’s Post was the album that opened up a world of new sounds into my musical spectrum. The monstrous sound of the bass and drums was heavier than anything from SOUNDGARDEN or NIRVANA. The menace in this song is palpable.
- Graeme

THE STONE ROSES – This Is The One
This song is classic Stone Roses. Great guitar/drum intro leads straight into a nice smooth bassline that explodes with dramatic chords before the vocals begin. Another lesson in how to build a song: there’s layered guitar parts, layered vocals, and they even manage to have some space in this song! These guys are the masters of bringing dynamics to a song even when all the members are going full force.
- Steve

THE FIRES OF – Sleeping In
Is it really weird to include your own track in a mixtape? Oh well, we’re doing it. This is a dub-version of “Sleeping In”, a song included on our new EP. This song has gone through a pretty crazy evolution. It almost didn’t make the record and we almost committed full-force to this dub-version which was an attempt to rework and rescue the track. Personally, I love the way this track builds. We hope you like this remixed version of the song. A version more faithful to the original ended up on the recording.
- Steve

CAMERA OBSCURA – Razzle Dazzle Rose
This band is lovely. That is all. Lovely in a reverby, trumpety, honey-soaked-voicey, warm-blankety, comforting way…
- Graeme