Reviews RCD2146
Their first statement since the 30-piece fire! Orchestra´s monumental "Exit!" was released at the n´beginning of this year, (without noticing) finds the Swedish trio hunkering back down to tight, aerodynamic grooves. By now, after five albums in four years, bassist Johan Berthling and drummer Andreas Werliin have perfected a no-nonsense approach to the rhythm section, which reanimates the corpse of heavy late 1960s early 70s blues rock in the vein of Blue Cheer and Black Sabbath : Berthling holds down lumbering, brontosaurus riffs with enough architectural immovability to afford Werliin the chance to flit around with a tightly-reined lightness, without ever deminisihing the impact. Over this, sax-man Mats Gustafsson calls forth mournful, dirge-like moans that add dramatic depth,
Jazzwise (UK)
Wallentin's husband and Wildbirds & Peacedrums partner Andreas Werliin crops up as a third of FIRE !, who also feature Mats Gustafson (The Thing) and Johan Berthling (Tape). (without noticing), their new album, has titles inspired by letters written by Smog's Bill Callahan. Returning to the trio format after the much-expanded line-up of last year's exit, (without noticing) infuses Albert Ayler's abandonment with the relentlessness of doom metal. Powerful and persuasive.
The Artsdesk (UK)
Electricity crackles within these muscular workouts provided by Gustafsson´s own turbulently jolting keyboard work. Fire! ´s rhythm section of Johan Berthling on bass and Andreas Werliin on drums provide a monolithically solid structure over which Gustafsson shrieks the horn fantastic. These releases prove once again that in Fire! and The Thing he has two of the finest power trios working in the modern jazz-rock field.
Rock-a-Rolla (UK)
Fire! is "fire music" from the furnace around the Swedish saxophonist Mats Gustafsson. Despite heaviness and high octane power in the zones of rock, free jazz, ambient and improvisation, free noise is not simply produced here, but musical structures and form-conscious dynamics come into play ... The music burns, but it leaves you also time to glow.
Jazz´n´More (DE)
... Werlin and Gustafsson above all cultivate the play of free powers, develop the urge to move forward and set off on new shores of wildly romantic beauty. High density and enormous passion characterize this kilowatt ensemble and its incomparable group sound. The poetry of power jazz, a rarity in international comparison ... And in contrast to some free jazz hardliners, I consider Gustafsson's combat electronics to be remarkable or relevant for this extraordinary power pack, because they contain the energy and mentality of punk, the Mats Gustafsson , perfectly transported into the Fire! context. Goodness, what a wonderful band. Peace and Fire!
Freestyle (AT)
Fire! he established a som and a nyscaping band og he nå tilbake som ren trio etter flere samarbeidsprosjektor. The tre svenskene debuted with et stringent og fascinerende uttrykk på albumet "You Liked Me Five Minutes Ago" in 2009, and det det dette de viderefører og utfordrer på "(Without Noticing)". De plukker fra både rock og jazz og clarer å finne nye innfallsvinkler, skape nye rom. De formidler med en tilstedeværelse som farger opplevelsen. Saksofonist Mats Gustafsson har gjennom de siste årene utvidet sitt virke and anvender electronics, organ and electric piano. For music to svulme. Bassist Johan Berthling has forstått hvordan et fåtall toner can fortelle en stor historie. Andreas Werliin he fleksibel og dynamisk og gir trommen sentral plass. Dette bandet har 60-tallet i speilet, men kjører Fremdover uten nostalgi i bagasjen. Fire! bidrar til fortsatt spreading tider på det blomstrende scandinaviske samtidsfeltet. 5/6.
Aftenposten (NO)
Blandar man frijazz og rock med energin hos Fire! has det vis vis seg svårt att undvika. Men det är under tiden, när stubinen glöder och återantänds, som trion riktig excellerar. I "Molting Slowly (Without Noticing") tänjer de ut intensiteten över ett långsamt, stapplande groove. I låten efter, liksom i början och slutet av skivan, bryter de av bitar av ond distorsion, som velidig har en särskild skönhet. Gustafsson laborerar works with fler ljudkällor än saxophoner. Men det är Berthlings basgångar som är själva stubinen.
Dagens Nyheter (SE)