Fromohio
fIREHOSE
1989
Album Summary
Fromohio (stylized as fROMOHIO) is the third album by the American alternative rock band Firehose, released in 1989. The album maintained the acoustic and folky sound of If'n.
WikipediafIREHOSE s'est visiblement trompé au moment d'écrire son nom d'artiste en ne s'apercevant pas que la touche "verr. MAJ" était activée. Cette erreur en a entraîné d'autres parmi lesquelles on trouve cet album.
Damn what the fuck? I thought this would be some grunge/punk screaming band from the name, but it is exactly in my taste of music and is really really good. How'd I not know about them before?
I haven't listened to this in years and wasn't crazy about it at the time because it felt less aggro and heavy than their previous 2 records. Older and wiser I'm hearing influences I missed the first time — Grateful Dead, John Fahey, XTC — and am royally digging the way it all comes together
Very fun album. Unique mix of prog, post-punk, indie rock. Always a big fan of a drum track.
I started off listening to fROMOHIO curious about what I was hearing, but not initially sold on the first two songs. It seemed a little unpolished and I wasn’t sure I was ‘getting it’. Where is this coming from?! Where was it going?! Then as the album progressed I started to recognize some real genius happening. Two drum solo tracks?! I thought I hated drum solos? “Let The Drummer Have Some” and “‘Nuf That Shit, George” dispelled that myth. The music is very well played. The lead singer sounds a lot like Tommy Shaw, which is great. Little lyrical and musical surprises pop up everywhere. At times the album has touches of punk, jazz, beat poetry, pop, rock, folk…. Once I stopped trying to figure this all out and just sat back I found myself totally enjoying the ride. Immediately after the album finished I started it over again and had no doubt this album is a 5. A welcome addition to my library that makes me happier with each listen. So glad to have been introduced to fIREHOSE. Fantastic, unique, awesome!
One of the things I'm discovering I love about this album generator thingy, is that it's helping to fill in some holes in my music listening history. I've listened to some fIREHOSE, mainly If'n (the album) which I love but other than that covers EP and a other songs here and there, I don't know much else so I'm glad this one popped up.
4.0 - This is a surprisingly tidy record with some excellent guitar work. There aren't any standout tracks but it all flows together surprisingly well. I hear elements of reggae via Clash, Talking Heads, REM, and a solid dose of the Minutemen. And Mike Watt sounds incredible on bass! Plus, it's obscure and midwest-American, so citing it as a favorite record will give you instant credibility amongst hipsters.
It might not be an all-time classic, but THIS, ladies and gents, is why I signed up for the 1001 Albums journey! "Fromohio" was an album I'd never heard of by a band I didn't know, with no clue what to expect. The cover made me brace myself for some alternative metal, but then the first two songs had me absolutely reeling. "Riddle of the Eighties" kicks in with a breathtaking drum intro (one of many on the album, a flurry of cymbals and hi-hats) before a bright, jangly verse and vocal recalling early R.E.M. "In My Mind" follows up with an irresistible calypso-tinged rhythm, evoking Paul Simon's "Graceland" in the "white guys doing world music" vain. There's an amazing momentum and energy to it and I couldn't not bop along... Admittedly, the quality slowly thins out after these stellar first two tracks. There are snatches of great music across the rest of the record, particularly in the stomping "Time With You" (check out the squawking funk-style guitar), the restless punky energy of "Some Things", and the left-field barroom singalong "Liberty For Our Friend." There's also a lovely pastoral acoustic guitar solo and TWO short drum solos, as though we've moved into an early 70s prog album. On the other hand, there are some tracks that never quite seem to get going, or never land on a strong enough foot of inspiration. "Whisperin' While Hollerin'" and "What Gets Heard" are both led by meaty basslines but suffer from mumbled vocals and stop-start rhythms which break a lot of the momentum. "If'n" begins excellently but then drifts around all over the place, diluting each section's impact every time it takes off again. "The Softest Hammer" is a damp squib of an ending. I realised the drummer and bassist originally played in Minutemen- I've heard some of their tracks and looking forward to revisiting because they put in stellar performances here. As it is, very glad I got the chance to hear this one today. I don't know whether I'll stick with "Fromohio", but it's been such a fun discovery that I don't want to put it anywhere below a 4.
J'ai apprécié cet album mais n'ai pas grand chose à en dire, par conséquent je vais ici vous dévoiler la discussion étrange que j'ai eu avec un homme bedonnant sonnant à ma porte ce matin: Homme bedonnant: *suisse allemand incomprehensible* moi: "sorry ich spreche nicht sehr gut deutsch" (désolé je n'avais pas entendu la sonnette) HB: *suisse allemand incomprehensible* moi: "Nein ich habe kein Auto" (oui exactement, mon album de fIREHOSE était un peu trop fort) HB: *imite le chimpanzé* LL: "Sorry, schöne tag" (vous imitez fort bien le chimpanzé)
Like Captain Beefheart and post punk with all the interest, energy and innovation removed
I think I really would have preferred a 501 albums project, and then I don't think this would have made the cut. I was bored, I didn't enjoy the music or the singer's voice, and I just couldn't get hooked in by any of it. Two drum solo tracks? Not even if the second one is appropriately called, "'Nuf that Shit, George." Bleah. Next!
The first album in this 1001 series that I really didn't enjoy at all.
This brings a whole new meaning to the word underwhelmed. I've been reading really shithouse student writing while listening to this and the palookas masquerading as students won out in the interesting stakes. I had to rewind the YouTube tape about three times as I was lost in a lost world of musical heads slowly disappearing up backsides. At least the students were creative in their mediocrity. Wow, a little bit of diddley dee twiddly dee guitar riffing, a bit of B grade Pixies bass mixed up front, some slightly off key warbling and hey presto here's a record that is...well I don't really know what it is. In My Mind is ok...sort of. Is this the late 80's version of prog rock, is this twee fiddling about what brought on grunge? These guys should have gonged it after The Minutemen and opened a nice bar where they could twiddly dee to their hearts content.
I guess I had mixed up Minutemen with some other band, because looking back I really enjoyed the earlier band's output as well. Good, short songs with enough instrumental goodness to whet my appetite, but not long enough to wear. Post-punky bass passages were certainly the highlight. I look forward to listening to the rest of the discography, which I hear is a bit different.
Disco ameno y ligero, con un rock alternativo con reminiscencias de punk en el que se pueden notar la influencia del folk/country americano en algunos temas.
Never heard of the album or the band but I really enjoyed this. Short and Sweet. Would listen to again.
A really interesting move from Watt's Minutemen output. Sounds like they're creating the college-rock blueprint.
I liked this quite a lot— lot of cool guitar work & I thought it flowed well from one song to the next. Had never heard of this band. “In My Mind” is really cool. I also kind of strangely liked “Liberty for our Friend”
enjoyed that. sounded a hell of a lot more modern that it is. i listen to a fair amount of new crap that sounds like this album.
June 9th, 2021 1.RIDDLE OF THE EIGHTIES- Awesome opener that let's me know that this will be my kind of album. 2.IN MY MIND- Sort of "island" vibes with the guitar. 3.WHISPERIN' WHILE HOLLERIN'- Heavier than the previous songs. Good stuff. 4.VASTOPOL- Instrumental interlude, overall a very quiet track. 5.MAS COJONES- Kind of an unusual track, but that's what makes this album so versatile. 6.WHAT GETS HEARD- Reminds me of something from DEVO's 1978 debut. Pretty awesome stuff. 7.LET THE DRUMMER HAVE SOME- Oh, he got some alright. 8.LIBERTY FOR OUR FRIEND- The whole damn band sings "all together now..." 9.TIME WITH YOU- Good drum and bass in this track. 10.IF'N- Real mellow stuff at both ends but a rocker in the middle. 11.SOME THINGS- Another one of the more rocking tracks on this album. Good stuff. 12.UNDERSTANDING- Overall, my favorite track. 13.'NUF THAT S*** GEORGE- Once again, the drummer had some. 14.THE SOFTEST HAMMER- Great slower-paced closing song >In Review: Overall, a great album. I had never heard of fIREHOSE before being recommended this, but I really enjoy their UNIQUE sound and I look forward to checking out more of their material. Even for the country/folk fans like myself, it's real solid stuff
First time I hear this band. Really good album! I was pleasantly surprised.
Surprisingly a great rock album that blends many different sounds from country to punk, and sounds very modern considering the number of bands in the 2010s in the indie and garage territory doing the same thing.
tbh it made no real impression on me, and i already can't entirely remember what it sounded like. But I do remember being pleasantly surprised.
Strange music based on cover, but I overall enjoyed the folksy and punky elements here.
For the first two songs, I couldn't really tell what musical language these guys were speaking. Once the bass kicked in on the superbly titled Whisperin' While Hollerin', I started to understand what we were doing. And then came the spare and lovely acoustic guitar instrumental Vastopol which is completely unlike anything else on the album but doesn't feel out of place. There is more great bass, funky guitar, and playing with time signatures in Mas Cojones, What Gets Heard, Time with You, and If'n. There are a couple of drum solos, which are good if you like that kind of thing. Some Things is fast and catchy punk-lite (in a good way). I came away thinking that these guys are decent musicians who like having a good time and I had a good time listening though I don't know how often I'll come back to this.
The ryhtmsection is great. The songs are fun. Don't really have something to complain about. Good album.
I thought this was an interesting album, though I feel like I'm going to have to listen to it a few more times before I give an informed opinion. It kept my interest, though (which is good because it's a short album). The sound quality could be better, but apart from that it's an album that feels ahead of its time based on when it was released
I love listening to these slightly more indie bands, it feels like "your favourite band's favourite band." This was a delight to listen to, with its postpunk/early alt sound.
Inventive Indie rock. short, quickfire with some crazy guitar riffs. Liked it alot. 4/5
Cool alt rock. Most of the songs are awesome, some are a bit harsh but overall enjoyed it!
The instruments all sounded phenomenal, but the singing was more hit and miss.
I'm sure my devotion to Minutemen is biasing my rating a bit, but this is a pretty fun listen.
Loved that - a cracking rock album with lots of fun diversions, all tied up in 30 mins.
It’s folk punk, like violet femmes but cleaner sounding. I was actually quite surprised by this thing, fine there were no real stand out tracks but all throughout its half hour length I was kept interested! The only moment I would call weak is this really random track ( well there’s 2 of them actually) of just drumming for a minute, but eh wasn’t horrible. Overall it’s a 4/5 solid album very good in fact but no moments of much notoriety.
Very fun album. Unique mix of prog, post-punk, indie rock. Always a big fan of a drum track
This one really surprised me. Never heard of this band, but the mix of 80s new wave, punk, and folk sometimes sounded like a sonic bridge to 90s grunge. No song sounded that same but it was a very cohesive album.
This album was new to me and required some repeated listening. Really liked it (it might not compare to the Minutemen's Double Nickels on the Dime, but that album is perfect and would be hard to match anyway).
I saw them in concert back in the early 90s in a small club. They were awesome. I like Flyin' The Flannel better, but this is a solid album.
How DIY should be – hooky and tuneful, with some likably raffish edges. "Riddle of the Eighties" and "Liberty for Our Friends" and "Time with You" and "Understanding" are standouts within a very coherent and consistenly strong set of songs. The melodic folkie bits passages are the perfect leavening to the grittier and punkier bits.
Not a band or album I was familiar with, at all. But this was really interesting and I think I liked it a lot!
Seems like an album i should have already listened to. With a band coming from the ashes of another, it's hard not to compare. Definitely more experimental then the Minutemen. Not sure if I'd listen to this over Double Nickels but a good listen regardless.
Perhaps there most even album by them.. What I do like is the great bass playing by Watt esp on songs like Mas Cojones and What Get's Heard. Some catchy tunes as well like In My Mind and Time with you. Good album and has a lot to offer.
first impressions : from ohio ?!???, 14 songs but only 32 mins so i guess the songs must be quite short which could be a good thing as some of the best ones are imo, band name looks cool and the cover is epic but i have absolutely no clue what im looking at in the first photo LMAO, the face looks very menacing tho >:) after listening : instant head bopping, very upbeat and head-boppy, cool drums and guitars, i liked that they gave each part of the band their moment with vastopol and let the drummer have some :DD favourite song(s) : riddle of the eighties, whisperin' while hollerin', vastopol (very nice guitar) !! BONUS !! : what gets heard (i like the ending part and the speak singing) rating : i liked it more than the last one style and sound-wise and think id be more likely to listen again so 4/5 i think :))
Another album I had never heard. This is a fun, genre-bending, late 80s album that I probably would have really dug back then if I had been aware of it. I had no idea that members of the MINUTEMEN went on to do other things, including fIREHOSE, but that explains the cleverness and amazing musicanship on this album. An interesting and hard to pin down piece of work.
Interesting album. I like the instrumentation (lead, bass, drums), and the melodies are cool. Nothing in here appealed to me dramatically, but I would listen to it again. 3 stars.
Some of the songs have a really good sound - some of them I had to skip (If'n; Some Things)
The album gets better the more you listen to it. Definitely tuned in to it’s uniqueness by the end of the album. Nothing that gives me a huge sargasso but maybe I have too high of experience for music.
This isn't my favorite type of music but I liked it for what it was. I think other bands are similar that I like more but there are also ones that I like less.
Fromohio, czyli rokowanie klasyczne z lat 90 w ktorym czuc punkowego ducha lat 90 hameryki, skladem gitarka, basik, drumy, skromnie ale qualitnie, zwlaszcza pan na basie wyczynia rzeczy ktore niewielu basiorowych mistrzow potrafi wyczyniac, minimalistyczna strona instrumentalna wplywa takze na to jak lirycznie wyglada plyta, bo jest przepelniona solowkami instrumentali i zdarzaja sie traki bez zadego wokalu po ktorych sa takie w ktorych chopaki spiewaja jednym glosem caly kawalek, 14 trackow przy 31 minutach w ktorych sie zawiera calosc vynylowa to dosc malo, ale jednoczesnie wystarczajaco zeby zaprezentowac skille jakimi wladaja grajkowie, dodatkowo jest to dosc standardowy czas albumiku lpka kasetowego, najbardziej popularnego nosnika wsrod punkarskiego rokowania tamtego okresu
Decent. Can tell its from the same era as all the old west coast punk that I like, but with the basslines it's a bit more like Fugazi etc, and it kinda has folk music influences at times. Definitely also tool inspiration from The Doors. 3/5
This is a challenging one for me. I was really into a lot of this record, especially the first few tracks. It reminded me of a math-rock Athens, Georgia group. They could have fit right in with early R.E.M. and the Flat Duo Jets, maybe with a little Television. But the bass playing was not my cup of tea, although I'm sure Flea would have loved it. I'll still give it a positive rating though! Fav Tracks: In My Mind, Riddle of the Eighties and Vastopol (Elizabeth Cotton?). Ratin 2.5/5
I had never heard of this band before, and none of the songs sounded familiar. There were some tracks that I found interesting and enjoyable, and others that I would not listen to again.
Knew of fIREHOSE as a Minutemen fan but never really gave them a listen. Some typically solid playing from the rhythm section, and the singer/guitarist is different enough from Boon that they have their own identity. That said, it sounds like an average SST release, and it drags more than a 30-minute record should.
album art does this album dirty, kinda generic but some good ones on there too, I think if I had been doing more active listening I would've saved a couple of them
Yup these boys can ay. I do hear a lot of the Minutemen signature sound but with more of a singer/songwriter, almost folk sound. Liberty For Our Freind sounds like a Woody Guthrie song. A fine album. 3 🌟
Interesting mix of rockabilly, post-punk, a touch of reggae, new wave, folk, and hard rock. There's obvious influences from the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, the Police, and '70s commercial rock. I'm honestly not sure if I like it or if it's really boring. It's very proto college rock in a lot of ways. There's nothing here that's terribly innovative. The bass work however, is truly outstanding.
Sounds like a compilation … doesn’t feel coherent as a whole piece … which kind of matters when thinking of these albums as an experience Some enjoyable songs … nice bass …