The Ponzi Scheme

They Say...

Review by Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

Thanks in part to Tod A's immediately recognizable sing-speak-rasp, Firewater's debut follows along easily from the wreckage of Cop Shoot Cop. If the music is less self-consciously anti-rock rock and more late-night seedy nightclub meets gypsy hoe-down, the same sense of bitter snarling against a messed-up world reigns paramount. Swaggering right on in with the strutting kick of "Some Strange Reaction," the hilariously titled Get Off the Cross finds Tod A rejuvenated, once again creating music out to steer away from the mainstream rather than slot into it. Yuval Gabay is his key collaborator here, his fluid playing as easily able to reference Latin jazz as it does klezmer and straight-up rock rhythms. It's the same skill Gabay brings to Soul Coughing. The range of participating musicians is a delight, with Doug Henderson's production and mixing deserving notice for how he makes everything leap from the speaker with maximum impact. Overall, Firewater wins some understandable comparisons to Tom Waits' twisted cabaret work of the 1980s, but it's more a connection of general form instead of sound. Both Tod A and Waits clearly have an appreciation for all sorts of things, but Firewater's less murky and withdrawn, more ready to rock a party hard (just give a listen to "I am the Rain," actually one of the band's most straightforward songs, sonically). A lot of the songs here have similar general arrangements, but the energy and sheer fun of the songs help overcome the slight sameness, as does the occasional smoky lead vocal by Jennifer Charles. If nothing else, Tod A still has a great line in song titles -- "When I Burn This Place Down," "Snake Eyes and Boxcars," and "Mr. Cardiac" are all winners.