Bill Mallonee

Item: Friendly Fire
Author: Brian A. Smith

Friendly Fire

(2005)

Reviewed by Brian A. Smith

Discogs YouTube

Label FundamentalThe Phantom Tollbooth2005

alternative country americana folk rock roots rock

The ever prolific Bill Mallonee has produced the counterpart to last year's Dear Life with Friendly Fire. With a few notable exceptions,
Friendly Fire takes a more optimistic look at life and its vagaries than its predecessor. Mallonee, much like Bob Dylan and Neil Young,
again veers off in a different direction than his followers may expect.

The opener, "No Longer Bound," may be the best new song of the last three or four albums. In a fashion, this song seems to be a defense
against those fans that have attempted to pigeonhole him:

"No longer bound/your friendship was my guard No longer bound/These chains have fallen off...

There are songs of self-pity
There are songs of the forsaken
If this struck your ear that way my friend
You're sadly mistaken.

"Is That Too Much To Ask?," and "Friendly Fire" work on dual levels as well, as they could be directed towards Mallonee's critics, or
inwardly toward the songs' protagonists. The latter in particular seems aimed more at a war veteran's story. "Can't Fake the Heartache"
recalls the Summershine/Fetal Position era musically.

Mallonee has never lacked for songs of love and self-loathing, and Friendly Fire is no exception there. "You Were the Only Girl for Me,"
"Apple of Your Eye," and "With Any Luck at All" reveal the continued appreciation the artist expresses toward his wife, family, and God.
"Four Leaf Clover" and "Second Guessing" are much more introspective, brutally self-effacing in their appraisal of the person they describe.

"Punk Rock's Dead," a concert favorite of the last five years, finally makes it to disc on this release. Along with "Of Future Partridge
Families (Back of the Bus)," the two songs serve to portray both sides of growing up: angst and hopefulness.

As this release and Dear Life were originally slated to be a double album, I played them together, along with the bonus EP Mallonee gave
to early purchasers of Dear Life. The result was a more complete picture than the first album originally gave. The songs balance each
other, and offer both darkness and light, hope and fear. Friendly Fire works slightly better as a separate entity, and is a little more
coherent.

4 tocks