Fromohio

Well after a quick little search to see wtf this even is im surprised it didnt do all that much for me in the end. The minutemen are hands down the best new to me thing ive found from this site. No questions asked. I have not stopped listening to their record since I got it. But the magic isnt here for this. Don't get me wrong its still good just nowhere near the same impact. The perfectly concise songs are in a way still here but they more resemble short songs rather than quick punchy ideas. The playing is still great for sure. It just dont hit the same way in this package. I sound like i hated this but I promise I didnt. Maybe it gets better with more listens but only time will tell that one. For now its just OK

Love the Minutemen so I was a bit biased coming into fIREHOSE, and this did not disappoint, except for the pointless drum solo songs, which are throwaways. Take those 2 out and this album is a solid 3.5 / 5. BUT, I'm being fair here, they were included so they dragged the album rating down to a 3.39 / 5 stars. I do like the music and Mike Watt is really good on the bass. Nice and quick album too, 32 minutes is perfect.

I can absolutely see my 18-year-old self El-Oh-Vee-Eeee loving this—fast, funky, indie-punk energy with that college-radio looseness. Today, though, it hits more as an interesting listen than a lasting favorite. I like the spirit and the musicianship, but the songs don’t quite stick, and the jangly, jammy vibe feels more nostalgic than essential.

This sounds like if AI created a 90s band. – Some Rusted Root, some Primus, some Chili Peppers.

English 80’s ish beat

Garage / grungy feel

Meh. The Minutemen were better. I'm totally gonna forget this in two seconds.

3.5-maybe 4. It was fine, maybe would enjoy more on re-listen

3.5 I quite liked a few of the songs, kinda an indie alt vibe. Some of the songs played with tempo and vibes, like up and down, and some were just a little too weird

Not my thing at all

This was alright, really good instrumentation throughout, singing and lyrics are fine. You can definitely tell there's a Talking Heads influence here, and it was quite interesting to dig into their history a little bit and appreciate where they're coming from. Not something I'd revisit but a neat lil post punk album

3.5

A fun discovery. Exciting, compelling post-punk. Not sure how essential it is, but a good listen nonetheless.

For a punk band this was better than I expected. Less discordant and more melodic.

Didnt know this project existed.. you can see the clear line from the Minutemen to this for sure, its pretty cool. A bit hit or miss for me though, while some songs like Time With You and Some Things were great, the kind of formlessness of a lot of the songs kind of took me out of it. Some great basslines and percussion especially, but it left me wanting a bit more. Maybe i just need repeat listens

Started out promisingly enough with Riddle of the Eighties and In My Mind. Of course the bass sounds good because it's Mike Watt. And upon re-listen, I feel less harshly towards it than I did on the first go. I'm rounding up with this 3. I can appreciate the playfulness when it occurs: two different drum solo tracks, their penchant for genre-bending.: jangly power pop, anthemic 70s arena rock (The Softest Hammer), some reggae-ish vibes on In My Mind. Sure, have at it.

Eh was fine

perfectly fine

Great guitar work, good sound, but ultimately forgettable.

Being from Ohio myself, I can attest that nobody there talks about this album. I’d never heard of it until today, even being a minor fan of The Minutemen. In fact, a good pal of mine, also from Ohio, is a tremendous Minutemen fan, and even he’d never heard of this! It tracks though, since we came of age long enough after this touched down to be forgotten. It’s subtle, low-production, and doesn’t foster enough to have ‘epic legacy’ status, but it is a fun and chill listen. It makes me want to skateboard, and that’s literally something I’ve never done before. I’m glad I got to hear this album, and learn the story of the little guitarist who could, fromohio.

Bass rules, otherwise there's really not much here to talk about. Definitely didn't deserve the spot on this list.

3.5. Totally a fan of Mike Watt, one of the best bass players not many know about.

The music is great, but I don't care for the vocals. You can tell they were having fun!

Actually, not too bad at all. Never heard of them but the music is tight and funky and heaps better than many albums on the benighted list.

Good, but A little lack of style

Not sure how to feel about this. It's boring but also kinda fun at the same time, the music style changes a lot throughout the album. I kinda.... like it? 3.1

Okay album. Never heard of it before. Nothing spectacular, but was a decent listen. 3/5 Might listen again

This was dogshit at times and nice at others. Don't really know how to feel about it, might need another listen. 5/10

It was alright. Liberty for Our Friend is a great song!

6/10… 80s Indie / College Rock

Interesting

Quite forgettable

interesting album. there are some moments on here that are really great power-poppy tracks and there are lots of more noise-y, harsher tracks. i appreciated the power pop stuff more than the more rough around the edges stuff. the vocals here are kind of all over the place. sometimes they're nice and sometimes it's like they can't hold a tune. a real mixed bag.

3.5 I owned this album and heard of this band ONLY because in the Marine Corp a buddy of mine meant to buy a Firehouse (glam rock band out at the same time, a lot of radio hits). He couldn't find the one he was looking for and bought this album by mistake. He immediately said, "what is this shit!?!" and, since I was known for eclectic musical tastes, it wandered down my way. I Liked it then - still do. Note - if you're a Firehouse fan - I'm guessing this isn't your project - just sayin' but I can see why Firehose ins't for you :-P

Las intros de las primeras canciones me han dado mucha esperanza, pero en cuanto empiezan a cantar, se tuercen. Mas cojones? La verdad que cuanto mas avanza el disco mas mejora, me ha acabado soprendiedo porque me lo esperaba peor, pero al final pasa lo mismo que al principio.

Short, poppy, folky, jazzy tunes adjacent musically to Pavement and Neutral Milk Hotel, but only in their low-fi folky nature, not in artistic merit. There's a laid-back approach to polish in their songs that reminds me of the feel of Pavement's recordings especially. Switching genres every song or two, there are some catchy songs here, with some unexpectedly indulgent guitar solos, crazy drum fills, and the most rushed pronunciation of the word "Liberty" you'll ever hear. Decent enough, but nothing overly interesting.

Started off great but fizzled out for me. Would not mind listening again though.

This was unmemorable and fine. Personal enjoyment: 3/5 Relevance to this list: 2/5

This was fine

S'alright, decent vibes but overall pretty middling.

Kind of breezed past me. I didn't dislike it, it was just there

Yeah, OK. This isn't bad!

nOTBAD. Like a merging of early 80s indie rock like REM, The Replacements, and what not. Yet it comes at a later time and sounds different but the same - kinda the point of doing this list, no? 3.5/5

it was all right i mean it was all right

Pretty cool album. Reminds me of some older REM, but doesn’t grab me as much as they do.

This is all over the place. I was expecting a punk album. It's ok in places. Not great in others. Best song to me is Liberty for My Friend. 2.5-3 seems fair.

not bad!!

im listenin

It was really stanky (affectionate) but then half way thru it got stinky (derogatory in this case).

Another pretty random inclusion on the list (almost every song on Spotify had less than 100k listens). However, I enjoyed it and found it to be unique and interesting. A cool blend of different genres. 6/10 (3/5)

Wow what a find didn't even hear of them before while Watt seems to have played with almost every name of that era..

This is definitely one of those records where 'you had to be there to get it'. I feel like this is something I missed out on, or just briefly passed by in the record store while my buddy was looking for some Firehouse in the late 80's. I like it, and I am sure there will be future listens to improve my appreciation.

This was fine. 3

Rock. This is one of those albums that sounds perfectly fine when you’re listening to it but once it’s over, you can’t remember a single thing about it.

Bang average. 3 stars

The quality here is wildly inconsistent. Parts of this are good. But other parts fall off pretty hard.

271125 15:16 3 / highlights: in my mind, time with you

Funky

It’s unique, in a way that I like. But I don’t love it.

Got some cool bass/drum grooves. Not gonna jump to listen again but would be happy enough if someone stuck it on.

Some cool moments and a really good drummer. Nothing too exciting but quite enjoyed the bits I paid attention to.

There is more to this band then meets the ear. At first they seem a little hap-hazard and simple but if you really give this album a listen, it has depth and talent all around. Feel like these guys influenced Claypool from Primus with the odd-dark bass and ranting on some tracks (like "What Gets Heard"). A quick and easily digestible 31 min album. I'll check out some of their other records and maybe even their founding fathers the Minutemen. Fromohio gets a 2.9 star rating.

Pretty run of the mill indie rock album from what I could tell. It wasn't bad, but at the same time I'm not sure what it did to land on this list. It didn't do anything really unique, and while that isn't a necessary point of entry I'm wondering what the author saw in this to differentiate it from countless other indie acts. Not sure I'll ever find out but there are many worse ways to spend 30 minutes than listening to Fromohio. 2.63 stars

Classic tunes from the spigot.

nice. first time listening impressed

+ In My Mind

Surprisingly I liked this one. It was nice to have on in the background.

Minutemen were better

It’s kinda fun. So is ping-pong, nachos, and Ryan Reynolds. But only in small doses. Not a daily player.

not bad! really good bass lines!

Musically interesting and well-written in parts, though I’m still not totally sure why he’s held in as high regards as he is. 3.5/5

It felt like old school rock in the 80’s, some tunes were good but a lot repetitive at times.

Good, but not as good as Minutemen. Unclear if this album should be on this list.

fun little album i enjoyed

Nice sound but samey after a while

The album features some nice instrumentals, vocals are slightly lacking. Overall, not bad. I would not have found this on my own but will not return to it. 3/5

Didn’t mind this. Some decent tunes and a nice runtime. Maybe something lacking to drag it out of the three though. Simpsons: No

The only way to describe this is as an inoffensive middle-of-the-road album.

Very fun sounding, especially in the first 2 tracks. Tracks to Track: In my Mind, Riddle of the Eighties

OK. Lots of guitar

First 2 songs were really good died down a bit afterwards though

3.5 08.07.2025

Nothing wrong with it just don’t really get why it’s on here

Pretty decent group, but nothing overly special. 2.5 I will round up.

Shout out to the rust belt

meh

Interesting….

This was better than expected. I'd listened to some album by firehose before and thought it was just screechy, maybe punk-folk. This was much better. Production is better and the singer has rounded off some of the shriekier bits. Mike Watt is a great bass player, no doubt. This seems like what an REM and Meat Puppets collab might sound like in their early days. No album really Needs a drum solo, definitely not two!

Nice album pretty uplifting. Maybe not memorable much, but I won't delete it.

This album feels a bit wacky and I'm here for it.

Sounded like a jam session between friends, which was charming in a way. It was fine, I enjoyed it but didn’t love it

This one straddles the 2/3 line for me. Some songs are classic 80s sound and enjoyable. Others are mindless and immediately unlikable and forgettable. Really inconsistent theme to this album.

That was an album of music

First listen

Sounds nostalgic even though it's new to me. Like something I would have listened to in high school or college. Not bad.

Talking Heads if they were REM

your favourite indie rocker’s favourite record?

Thought this would be cooler, it kinda looked like a cool punky/hardcore album, and actually started sounding that way before shifting immediately into a pretty soft indie rock… but it went up and down, there was certainly some interesting instrumentation. Idk!

Liked

I had never actually heard of this album or this project! cool that hurley and watt got together to make this band after Minutemen broke up, altho they didn't quite reach the high highs of Minutemen it was still a solid listen... sometimes this list is so strange tho cuz like why this album hahaha

Some phenomenal basslines, everything else was a bit meh

Not bad, but it just didn't grab me

Not bad alt rock! 😁

lowkey the best part of this was the drumming

A really fun listen(i fell asleep lol) 3

Solid punk. Tight instrumentation. Nothing stands out to me though.

It sounds like Husker Dü. Is that a compliment? I honestly don't know. The album wasn't bad, but I don't think I'm the demographic for it. Some songs were at best catchy to me, the rest I don't think I'll remember. One thing I like are how short the songs are and the album is. Short and sweet and I think a lot of albums should be like that in this genre

Not bad…great percussion

Pretty cool, enjoyable, not annoying - but also the sort of album I could tell I would forget shortly after listening.

Fairly standard late-80s alt-rock fare.

Interesting inclusion. Starts off nice, then sort of jumps in quality all throughout. I liked the funk and sort of free-form influences, which is heard in the guitar, bass, and drums. Nice little Midwest American charm too I guess.

What a surprise!

These dudes rock

A band that would go on to influence all of 90s culture, from the alt-rock airwaves to the Seinfeld theme song.

It was fine. Nothing to write home about.

rather plain. Nothing stands out to me texturally or melodically

Average

I was hit and miss on this album. As someone who went to school in Ohio, it felt very Ohio - somewhat familiar but also somewhat cringy at the same time. I really like the Minutemen, so parts of the album were good but I'm not sure I'd go back to it.

Great musicianship and varied styles/ genres. Will listen again.

Nice guitar work but this album is sloppy and forgettable

Pretty good. I added some songs to my Spotify playlist. I give it a 3.5.

On Fromohio, fIREHOSE dial back the SST punk-jazz attack and veer into twangier, more homespun terrain—think front-porch noodling filtered through post-punk idiosyncrasy. Mike Watt’s bass still slinks and pops, but this time it’s matched with dusty acoustic strums, slide guitar, and the occasional whiff of Americana. At times, the album feels like a scrapbook of sketches rather than a fully fleshed-out record—some tracks end just as they’re getting interesting, others coast on quirks that feel more calculated than inspired. Still, there are moments of charm: “In My Mind” rides a tight groove with an infectious guitar jangle, “Vastopol” is a surprisingly warm instrumental hoedown, and “Time With You” flirts with accessibility without losing the band’s off-kilter DNA. Not quite punk, not quite folk—Fromohio is somewhere in between, but doesn’t always make the case for staying there.

Some songs were rip roaring yet others were just not up to par. Fun energy and wild inspiration

average

Much like the name, this band’s music comes at you like a Firehouse. 14 songs in 31 minutes in a wide variety of styles: folk-inflected, punk, a track that has Duran Duran new wave-sounding guitar, straight ahead rock tunes. It sounds good, well-produced, but I wasn’t really taken with any of it. The lead’s vocals are fairly weak too.

This was really good and interesting. Folk-inflected post-punk. Really excellent musicianship. Could be a 4, but i’ll have to come back for another listen. I’ll go with 3 for now.

Childhood, man. Booting up the PS2, loading Tony Hawk's Underground2 and skating around Boston and Barcelona all day, but never once altering the soundtrack. Back then you didn't have to, every song was heat. This album reminds me of that, "If'n," "Some Things," and "What Gets Heard" all remind of that special feeling.

Its definitely not bad and even enjoyable but no standout tracks, just kind of easy listening

Cool

This wasn’t good, wasn’t bad — no need to hear again. 2.5 up to 3.

Fromohio is just another late 80s alt rock album to add to the ever growing stockpile. If i were to compare this one to another album on this project, it would probably California by the American Music Club since they share a lot of the same ideas and have a generally similar sound. I do think this one is a bit better than that one since i do enjoy some of the melodies of this one a bit more than that one. There are also 2 songs where they are just drum solos which I'm not a huge fan of since single-instrument songs aren't really my thing but they were pretty short at least. Honestly, i really don't know what else to say about this album, it's more or less something that existed. Best Song: What Gets Heard Worst Song: Let The Drummer Have Some

After that intro, I was expecting something a little less folksy. It was fun, though!

It’s got that friend-jam energy. Like three dudes who have played together forever and still think it's funny to put in a goofy break or yell something off mic. The melodies are jangly and warm, the guitar lines simple but catchy. Like they don’t care if it’s tight, just if it’s fun. It’s a hangout of a record. Spins: 3 Playlist Additions: - Riddle Of The Eighties - In My Mind - Time With You

One or two really good tracks, but the rest of the album is pretty mediocre, I think. Not something I would seek out to listen to again.

Solid album from what I remember. I had a dog pass away yesterday morning so it's kind of a blur.

This seems like a couple of friends got together to make an album for fun and accidentally ended up on the "1001 albums to listen to before you die" list. It's great and a whole lot of nothing all at the same time. The lead singer has a great voice

I actually really enjoyed this album. Never heard of them, but I definitely want to go back and discover more!

Yeah, fine.

This was when people got so bored of rock they invented funk rock and quickly regretted it

mad cojones

I really enjoying getting these deep cut 80's albums even if they aren't always that great. Favorite track: Riddle Of The Eighties 2.5/5

nice enough

I did not use a private session for this one. I know fIREHOSE, but have never sat down a listen to an album. I like it, can tell how it influenced bands I like, but not going on the heavy rotation play list.

Enjoyable album that I had never heard of before

Ho-hum. Perfectly okay music but lacking in excitement or wow moments.

On Fromohio firehose seem too keen to show off their prowess as musicians. The voice is weak and way back in the mix. Impressive in many ways but lacking the songs to bring you back for a repeat listen.

Some very interesting genrehopping going on here. Just imagine how good this album would have been if the songwriting had been more than just decent as well.

Over in a flash. Quite surprised this is late 80s, sounds considerably more modern. However, pretty dull overall. Some nice guitar bits, but didn't enjoy the guy's voice. Too whiny.

Going to need a few more listen to appreciate and understand but background noise for now

Sounds like one of those albums an popular band puts out to show that they aren't pigeon-holed to a certain genre or sound. Problem is I have never heard of this band, so I have nothing to judge it against. No disrespect to The Minutemen. Which ultimately that this album is nice, but not memorable. Though it may be memorable if you listened to this artist's entire catalog. 3

Had never heard of this band before. One of the reviews quoted in the Wikipedia article said "Imagine a technically imperfect band that has the art of free-form fusion mastered,” and I think they nailed it. I liked this - fun to listen to. The instrumental tracks in the middle and the two drum solo bits made me feel like I was just hanging out with the band or at a really small show of their friends or something. Highlights were Vastopol, The Softest Hammer, and Understanding

Als groots fan van Minutemen kwam ik met fIREHOSE ook wel aardig aan mijn trekken. De onnavolgbare drums van Hurley en het speelse baswerk van Watt staan nog steeds centraal, maar er valt wel een hoop dynamiek weg na de tragische dood van Boon. De lyrics zijn minder 'witty', maar vooral het ronduit magische samenspel tussen de gitaren van Boon en Watt laten een leegte achter. Ik snap dat het genre-wise een andere kant op gaat, en duidelijk richting de typische alternative rock sound beweegt die de 90s uiteindelijk kleur zou geven, maar die gedreven (hardcore-)punk sound mis ik toch wel echt. Het is een waardig overblijfsel, dat wel, maar ik zet Minutemen nog maar eens aan. 6,5/10 Highlights: What Gets Heard Time With You

Had hier nog nooit van gehoord maar het spreekt me wel aan. Het heeft de punkyness vanuit de overblijfselen van Minutemen, maar anderzijds de meet folky stukken, bijvoorbeeld in Fastopol. En nu is Folkpunk altijd goed voor mij, dus gaat dit er ook wel in als gesneden koek eigenlijk. Vooral die bass-gitaar van Watt. Wat klinkt die heerlijk blubberig, love it. Vond de tweede helft wel wat minder boeiend. 7/10 Highlights Mas Cojones

Weird… komisch aber nicht schlecht

2.8 did you know they're from ohio? faves: riddle of the eighties, liberty for our friend

Guy on the guitar shreds man holy SMOKES

actually pretty good i dig it

This is a nice little album by a band i hadn’t heard before! I appreciate that it doesn’t seem to follow a specific formula or try to sound like anybody else. I’ve been on a run of really boring Brit-pop so what a relief! Just the contrast almost made me give this a four, but I’m not sure I will really come back to it. It is original but good not great. It would surely be a 3.5 if that were possible.

That was some nice indie rock, but it wasn't unique enough to set it apart from other similar albums. 3.5 stars

From ohio. Hard alt rock

Well that wasn't too bad. As it started, I thought it might be a pass on this one, but as it went further into the album, it got better as it went. Not saying this will be in my daily listening schedule, but it was a decent collection of songs.

1989 again... Easy listening maar echt totaal niet heel boeiend ofzo. Ik had pas bij nummer 9 door dat er uberhaupt iets aanstond. een mooie 3 sterren.

fIREHOSE pra mim sempre são meio esquisito pq parece que boa parte da surtação mais divertida do minutemen vinha do D Boon, mas ainda assim sempre bom ouvir o baixo do Mike Watt

This felt like some garage band but not in a bad way. Raw, unpolished but still good. I liked that he sounded more like rehearsals or bad audio live quality. It’s not a bug, it’s a feature. Nice guitar playing and drums too.

Before this album came up for me, my entire fIREHOSE experience has been Mr. Machinery Operator, Brave Captain, and In My Mind. I bought Mr. on CD in 1993 because a girl I liked said I should check it out. No future became of the girl, but the album is still in my rotation to this day. Anyway, we're taking about Fromohio. It's different than what I would I have expected. I hear a lot of sounds that I am familiar with from the 90's, so I'm guessing this album did have some significant influence on the future of music. Overall though, I liked listening to most of it, but not enough to really come back to it. There's a lot of great music out there and I may not have time for this album again, but I do appreciate the experience.

Surprised to see this here. R.E.M. lite, from the ashes of the Minutemen. These sketches of songs don't always coalesce, in the way that something semi-contemporary like Frank Black's Teenager of the Year does, but it's a more-than-noble effort.

I've never heard of this album or the artist before, but that's quite a unique album cover, although I have to admit that it's a bit on the ugly side. Early alternative rock has been pretty hit-or-miss with me as I've made my way through this list. I really enjoy Sonic Youth, but for some reason, bands like Jane's Addiction and Dinosaur Jr. haven't really landed with me. I have no idea what to expect from fIREHOSE, but let's go to Ohio! I connected with this a little bit more than I did either Dinosaur Jr. album. The first two songs were really great, but the album never did match that high again over the rest of its run time. "Riddle Of the Eighties" had some great guitar playing and vocals, and I really liked how it would stop and start throughout the song. It was a really fun and hooky opening track. "In My Mind" was great too. I loved the calypso feeling of the lead and bass guitar playing. It was an excellent follow up to the opening track. From there though, the album was a bit on the boring side. The guitar playing was really good throughout the album, but there was very little over the last 12 tracks of the album that stood out to me. However, "Time With You" was really good. The guitar playing was fantastic, and I loved the tone of the vocals. Even though I wasn't wowed by this, I still thought it was an interesting listen, and I'm glad I got to experience something a little different today.

A decent listen. Opening track is good and it has two separate drum solo tracks, but on the whole won't last long in the memory.

fine I want to have something good to say about the next one

Short but sweetly melodic.

Fav: In My Mind Least Fav: Liberty For Our Friend Bass went kinda crazy ngl

A strange little album with a sound that’s hard to pin down, tossing acoustic guitar into a surprisingly textural and atmospheric album that somehow still feels like punk. I didn’t love it but I did enjoy it. Best song: Understanding

First listen. Pretty good music. Surprised it would be on this list though. Not sure it reaches that caliber but I have been surprised by a lot on this list so far.

14 tracks in 31 minutes? Ok, this has to be punk or hardcore - excellent! Yeah, not quite. It’s not bad, not at all, but it’s quite forgettable. It was ok, but I’d have been way happier if it had been punk.

Will listen again

This is a fine album - I disagree that I had to hear it before I died but I'm glad the generator has thrown another album my way that I likely never would have heard of

These types of picks always confuse me with why they are on this list. This album is perfectly fine, but there is no wow factor and nothing groundbreaking. It definitely isn’t something you need to hear before you die.

I wouldn't say I had to listen to this before I died

rapido e indolore

ci sta, corto come album 7.5/10

Clearly, a fair amount of talent and skill. The instrumental bits are the most compelling. Some of it is cliche and typical of Dimery’s personal preferences. It’s fairly middle of the road, pop-adjacent, white people music.3/5

That was fine

A pretty good album, I liked Understanding and The Softest Hammer the most.

A solid 3, reminded me of music that would play in the background of a skateboarding game.

👍

I have listened to some fIREHOSE before and I like it although none of these songs stand out but they are good

It was ok.

Didn't love it by any means, but didn't mind some of it. A true 2.5

Gear: Aür Audio Aurora Artwork: 🌁🚃😬 Production: 😐🙂👌 Music: 💆‍♂️💡🌶️ Rating: 🚂🚃🚃(🚃)/5

I found this album a bit rough on first listen but on multiple subsequent listens I enjoyed it more. I'm not exactly sure why it made the 1,001 list other than it shows the evolution of the MINUTEMEN (a more influential act, in my opinion) from punk to post-punk and alternative after the death of D Boon. Sort of like the evolution in sound of Husker Du (and later Sugar), though I found their later sound better than this. Still, after multiple listens, I quite liked Riddle of the Eighties, In My Mind, Vastopol, Liberty For Our Friend, Time With You, and Some Things.

This sounds like any bar band from the late 80s. Not quite sure what made them get a series of albums or make this list. Like seriously, I've heard so many bands where the jams/songs sounded like this, and I'm even talking around that time, so it's not like they were cutting edge. Also, the singing is kind of on the weak side - again reminds me of a so-so bar band. Finally, the recording quality had moments where this might as well have been some band's demo. I'd call this a 2.5 and I'll round up because there weren't any moments I actively disliked and there were enough decent moments and enough variety for me to not ding them further, but I definitely didn't need to hear this before I die. Tracks that caught my attention: Whisperin' While Hollerin', Time With You, The Softest Hammer.

Not bad, but nothing special

Good, but not memorable

Can see how it influenced others but a bit too scattershot for me to truly enjoy it

Oh hello, College Radio. This isn’t bad. It’s a little heavy on that bass-slapping sound, like Primus and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Clearly, a fair amount of talent and skill. The instrumental bits are the most compelling. Some of it is cliche and typical of Dimery’s personal preferences. It’s fairly middle of the road, pop-adjacent, white people music. Not bad, but not essential.

frekar skemmtilegt. jassskotið. gef þessu aðra umferð. 3,5.

Þetta var einhverra hluta vegna afskaplega erfið plata að komast í gegnum. Það er ekkert að henni. Hún stendur bara ekki upp úr. Þetta er eins og bílskúrsband þar sem frændi bassaleikarans var útgefandi og leyfði þeim að taka upp plötu. Algjört meh.

shrug.

This is another example of some unheard of album resonating with me, and that's all I ask of art. Make me feel something! Pain, agony, disgust, joy, peace, beauty, anything. In this case, it was surprise, and I like most surprises

This obviously reminded me a bit of the Minutemen album Double Nickels On the Dime. Two members of that group are in fIREHOSE. This is another album that I find myself a bit confused as to why it is in this book. The songs I would recommend are: Riddle of the Eighties In My Mind Liberty for Our Friend Time with You Understanding I do feel similarly about this album as I did Double Nickels on the Dime. It's not bad and there are good spots but the music sort of just cruises in and out of my mind. I could see myself adding a few songs to a playlist but the music isn't consistently good enough for me to recommend the whole album.

I've known of Mike Watt and Minutemen my whole life but never really got into either. This post Minutemen band is an interesting story. I didn't blow my mind but it's still enjoyable. A mix of funk, punk, jazz and what not and so on and so forth.

fun but not really memorable.

That's not my taste in music - But ok

Doesn't sound at all what I was expecting which was a delightful surprise. Would probably listen again.

This album pleasantly surprised me, it was a fun listen. I'd probably listen again

Not too bad but a little dry for me.

Love the story of the band. Would recount it here but the album didn't get me quite excited enough to go to the additional effort. Still fun though

All round a pretty good album, hard to nail down their genre exactly, definitely alt rock, elements of punk and funk. The album definitely shifts through the different sounds every few songs. A 3 star for now but I feel it's close to 4 for me. I think the second half of the album is stronger.

Helt ok rock

Not what I expected and actually pretty good, but not really essential.

Nice sound, may investigate more.

nothing crazy good but very unique. you can very much tell these dudes were all in minutemen

Yeah, didn't mind this...just the right side of indie faffing.

Not really into it

I've always kinda liked fIREHOSE, and after listening to this album, I still do.

Not overly standout.

Okay

Didn’t make much of an impression on me; likely won’t listen to again. 2.5

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ didn’t love it, didn’t hate it. right in the middle of the road

Some peeps jamming together some rock tunes. Could be worse!

Was I wrong to immediately think of the Monkees

Sounds like it’s just some white boys having fun. Strangely, the stuff I liked the most on this record were the stripped back, simple songs. The Going To California type of guitar melody on “Vastopol” was a very good interlude. Then “Liberty For Our Friend” was very fun and made its way into my head with its simplicity. I’ve never heard about these guys before and don’t know how often I’ll hear about them after this. I can hear the foundations for some of the midwestern rock and emo to come after this album, like one of my favorites “You’d Prefer An Astronaut” by Hum. While there is a great amount of charm to be heard throughout, I don’t think I’ll be going back to this one much. I’m happy I got to learn about a new band and had a bit of fun doing so

I really don’t have much to say about this one…it was okay, but I won’t be saving it or listening to it again.

Not bad, just boring

Good good. Enjoyable listening. Why not. Have a 3

Skibidi Wel oke

Listened twice. A new listen for me.

Rating: 6.5/10 It got better and better as it went on, an interesting combination of genres.

This has its moments, but on the whole it’s a bit scattered.

3.5

Following the death of D. Boon, the surviving two members of Minutemen decided to continue making music under the name fIREHOSE, similar to New Order from Joy Division. Unlike New Order, however, fIREHOSE did not make quite the same splash that Minutemen did. Maybe there was an unmatched element of D. Boon's songwriting that couldn't be recreated, or maybe member Ed Crawford simply took the band in a different direction. There's still some unique element to fIREHOSE that's similar to the same charm that made Minutemen so incredible, but it just isn't the same to me. There are some interesting ideas here but none of them really match the same level of interest I had for Minutemen's catalogue. I know I keep bringing up Minutemen but it's hard not to when both bands share 2/3 members and they sound fairly similar. I like to think that fIREHOSE has something for folks who love Minutemen music unconditionally and will always find something to appreciate from it's members, but it doesn't quite hit the same stride for me.

I wish I got this more than I did. Liberty for our Friend was good but a lot of it fell flat. Not bad.

Meh. Unnecessary

Meh. Never heard of this band and I didn’t feel bad about that after hearing this. It was serviceable modern rock.

Kimd of enjoyed this, had never heard of these guys before.

Ungeschliffener Rohdiamant aus der Osmose von 80er und Brit Pop. Solide Tracks mit bodenständiger aber nicht außergewöhnlichen Tracks..“

Honestly, painful to listen to. Sounds like a band that heard a lot of good songs and forgot how they went while trying to cover them.

Pretty cool rock and roll! Enjoyable and something I’d maybe come back to as well! Decent tunes, decent band, decent vocals! Can’t ask much more!

Its ok, interesting even, I respect what they are going for, kinda post minutemen jazzy free punk? I am impressed that I'd never even remotely heard of these boyz, but reviewing this a week out I remember literally no hooks nor anything about songs, except maybe a pretty jazzy drum intro?

It’s ok

Thoughts before listening: I love the Minutemen...or at least I love Double Nickels on the Dime. I am not sure I have heard the rest of their albums but that one album is a stone cold classic. With fIREHOSE, I know that this is the band that followed after D Boon died. I have heard a few songs here and there, and I believe I owned a tape of theirs once, but I definitely am not as familiar as I was with the original band. I typically love anything Mike Watt is involved with, so I am sure this is will be good. Review: This sounds like a folkier, less punk rock version of the Minutemen that reminds me of other 80s bands like REM. With the music being very much driven by Mike Watt's bass licks, there is definitely a recognizable, distinctive sound to this album. This isn't as good as Double Nickels.... and while I am glad to have listened to it, I can only give this 3-stars.

3.2 2x catch up 12/6/2024 reminded me a bit of uncle tupelo but not as good

It starts off strong and then losing steam in the middle. It has a strong feel of your friend's band from high school. You can't really find anything wrong with it, but you can't really find anything to praise either.

5.5/10 Highlights: Time With You

Interesting. Not sure I like it enough to buy the album.

So this is like an alt-rock album from right before grunge took off? I started to get into a bit more on the second listen and I think it could grow with a few more but for now it's a 3. Faves: The openers are great, Riddle Of The Eighties, In My Mind

Jeg ved ikke hvad jeg forventede men syntes faktisk det var meget fedt. Mindede mig lidt om Primus engang i mellem

Jeg er på team "rigtig fin plade"! Sys det var charmerende indierock

Fine - nothing I’m interested in.

As I started listening to this album I thought “wow this sound seems familiar”, then I read that it was members of the Minutemen that formed this band after D Boon’s death, and that explained a lot. I enjoyed this listen, but I’m not sure any songs really stood out from the rest. I just appreciate the bands ability to play almost anything they want, and they don’t sound half bad doing it.

3.5

Good guitar work, but not that interesting apart from that. 3.5 stars

Thought it was overall pretty good, but kind of sagged a bit in the middle. I don't know if any of the songs were truly amazing, but "In My Mind" and "Time With You" were a couple that kind of stood out. 3.5 stars

Nice bit of random, wiry, angular indie rock from the 80s. Songs range from humdrum to o hey that’s pretty good. Highlight is What Gets Heard where Harry S Plinkett is on lead vocals.

Best lekker wel! Had ik niet verwacht

Guter sound, aber auch nichts besonderes. Hat mir gefallen, aber werd nicht nochmal reinhören.

Meh, this is fine. Not my type of music but I did not mind listening to it.

Ok album

Pretty enjoyable. Fairly surprising that this album does not have more listens on spotify. The quality is consistent throughout and the instrumental work is impressive. Best song: Riddle of the Eighties Worst song: Liberty For Our Friends

it's rock that's about it

Folky indie rock lots happening but liked it a lot

To be honest, it sounded ok

I'd heard a bunch of fIREHOSE and really enjoyed it. Reading wikipedia I learned the reason why: the outgrowth from MINUTEMEN resonating therein. Irreverent, funky, punky, jazzy, eclectic. Makes you want to listen to try and figure out where they're going.

I remember mail-ordering this from the SST catalog. I feel now the same way I felt then. It's pleasant enough. good musicianship. catchy tunes. I dig their personality. But it's missing something. Like it has no umami.

Some pretty fun songs. Bass and guitar stand out on quite a few tracks. Not exactly what I was expecting from a band called Firehose, but it’s good.

It was ok. 2.5

Good stuff but not memorable to me

OK, I was only dimly aware of fIREHOSE before this. Since this is a pleasingly short album, I've played this several times now. I'd characterise this as sitting on the folkier/garage end of the SST roster. It's OK, but for me it doesn't set the world on fire.

Was focused on work while listening to this, so I didn't get a very accurate picture of it, but it didn't particularly stand out. Just skimming through it now afterwards makes me feel like it wasn't too bad, and I should definitely listen through it again! I already found myself some pretty cool songs, like 'In My Mind', 'Vastopol', and 'Time With You', for example. There are quite some parts in this album that surely must have influenced some 2000s indie bands like Vampire Weekend or something. Interesting listen, strong 3 for now!

Never heard of fIREHOSE before. Would've guessed this came out later than it did, it sounded surprisingly modern. Hard to place the style but it sounds a bit indie, a bit punk rock. Can see myself listening to this again and not just when I'm working to see if it grows on me. "Time with you" and "In my Mind" stood out the first time around. As it stands an strong 3.

Really not sure how this made the list.

I had never heard it before. It was an interesting Fusion of Funk and punk.

It’s not terrible, but really nothing stands out.

незамысловатый, но приятный

Interesting mix of genres. Nothing offensively loud or annoying, but nothing really exciting either.

Meh. It was good but not something I’d seek out

3 stars

Super interesting, had never heard of this band before but enjoyed it.

I remember them but not how they sounded, I liked it!

An enjoyable if ultimately forgettable album. the singer is probably the week link. There's something very American. A freedom in the playing and genre hopping. You can feel the joy in their love to just playing music. Whatever comes to mind. Nothing wrong with that.

A bit messy and rough around the edges, but definitely a fun album that's hard to criticise.

Pretty cool, and appreciate the musicianship and the drum sound (in particular the cymbals) sound ace, but didn't completely set me alight. Favourite tracks: Riddle of the Eighties, In My Mind.

Viihdyttävä setti ja pari kertaa pyöritteli päivän aikana läpi. Oma suosikki Time With You.

This sounds like that one buddy you had who was in a band and they were kinda good, but you could tell they probably weren’t good enough to make it. But then this album is on this list, so I guess they did make it? But then again so are some pretty terrible records, so I don’t even know what to think anymore. 3 stars

Late 80s indie, pretty interesting

It’s not bad. It’s like that early 90s mixup of funky punk and folk. Reminds me of, like, The Lemonheads, or Dinosaur Jr, or The Replacements. It doesn’t really *sound* like those bands, per se, but they’d definitely tour together.

3.75

Interesting to hear from '89, pretty fun and feels of the era. Required listening? No.

Aldrig hört talas om. Absolut inte dåligt, men samtidigt är det här ett band vars existens jag kommer att glömma bort i samma sekund som jag avger den välförtjänt svaga trean.

interesting! probs not for me

Just meh. Music I don't care about.

Terrible run of albums.

It's not groundbreaking or revolutionary, but I enjoyed this groovy and upbeat indie for today. It will probably go directly to the forgotten valley of my memory, but it deserves three stars for the fun 30 minutes.

# 299 : Never heard of this band before but I am pleasantly surprised. There's some good guitar rock with a lot of bright melodies. If I had discovered these guys 20 years ago, I would've been there for that and worn out all my CD's! Favourite Track : Time With You

Good album.

Another hard one to score. Lo-fi, sometimes folky, sometimes rocky and Pixies reminiscent, even a bit of disco. I like the sound but it doesn't really move me. Not sure if this is a "must hear" album. On a good day it's a 3.

This was genuinely fun and unique in the moment! It had my attention until it was over. Maybe worth another listen because right now I’m struggling to remember a single track.

Formed from the ashes of Minutemen, fIREHOSE shows promise but fails to rise anywhere near the heights of its predecessor despite retaining two-thirds of its jazz-punk DNA.

Favorite Tracks: Liberty For Our Friend

I've always liked the songs I knew from Firehose (Sometimes, Time with You, For the Singer of REM), but I never figured they were big or influential enough to be considered essential listening lol. Decent piece of late 80s alt with cool basslines, but not very memorable.