Surefire Surefire
by Joe Mis
Staff Writer
Straight outta Brooklyn, New York comes Surefire’s self-titled debut album, Surefire. A bit of classic rock, a hint of alternative, and a touch psychedelic rock combine to make this quartet’s debut something interesting. Taking obvious influences from AC/DC to Zebra and Alice In Chains to White Lion, singer/songwriter/producer/guitarist Ben Rice molds diverse elements into a solid and unique sound resulting in a powerful debut that will appeal to any fan of classic rock.
Surefire is the brainchild of Ben Rice. Not only does Mr. Rice play guitar and sing lead, he also wrote all the songs on the album, gets co-credit for producing with Eddie Kramer (yes, the Eddie Kramer who worked with Jimi, Led Zep and The Stones), and partial credit for engineering as well. Rice has a good voice and is a true singer, not a screamer, and he handles his lyrics with skill and grace. Rice makes an excellent guitar-playing partner for Emiliano Ortiz. Both handle the electric and acoustic guitars well, and solo with feeling and emotion. The bottom end of Jacob Sloan (bass) and Ben Spinrad (drums) is excellent, deftly handling all of the various styles and tempos without issue and without dominating the music.
The album opens on a powerful and booming note “The New Standard” – a mid tempo rocker which highlights just about all of the strengths of Surefire. It has solid lyrics and excellent musicianship, a smooth but simple melody line and some hot guitar breaks. “Lucy” follows next and is a lively track with nicely layered vocals, a punchy guitar solo and a definite late- 70s feel. “She’s Golden” is another up-tempo track that allows Ben Rice to try out a bit of a falsetto to successfully push his range
The production and engineering on Surefire are outstanding, and every sound is crisp and clean without sacrificing the warmth that classic rock requires. The songs are well crafted both lyrically and musically, and the performances of all band members are flawless. Tonally, the album is mellow and low key – no arena rockers here – better suited for an intimate setting rather than a massive arena. Stylistically the tracks range from ballads to medium tempo rock tracks, and all are simple straightforward music with minimal electronic trickery. The obligatory ballad/love song makes its somewhat sappy appearance in “Hold On To The Feeling,” but this into a more crunchy and energetic blues-rock tune “The Mountain.”
“Comeback Kid” has a very “The Who” groove to the intro and is a true rocker from start to finish – great bass and drums. “Sea Song” is a fabulous ballad – almost like something Crosby, Stills & Nash would do – featuring great lyrics and a catchy beat. The bitter “Stone Fox” brings the crunch back and lays down a great hard rock groove courtesy of the bass, drums and rhythm guitar. “Straightaway” is one of the few lows on the album – it is just a long and tedious track that lacks personality (although it features a great closing guitar outro), and may just have been added as a time filler. The album wraps with “By My Side”, a heartfelt mellow tune that echoes White Lion’s softer moments.
Surefire will appeal to any fan of classic rock, and with a little luck these guys will be around for a while. Ben Rice’s obvious enthusiasm and talent (not to mention his natural Brooklyn swagger) should carry Surefire forward. If you enjoy The Who, Led Zeppelin, Zebra and their ilk, or just like mellow modern rock with some old-school influences then you will more than likely be thrilled with Surefire. If you are looking for something high energy, heavy or extreme in any way then look elsewhere.
Highly recommended.
Genre: Classic Rock / Alternative Rock
Band:
Ben Rice (vocals, guitar)
Emiliano Ortiz (guitar)
Jacob Sloan (bass)
Ben Spinrad (drums)
Track Listing:
1. The New Standard
2. Lucy
3. She’s Golden
4. Hold On To The Feeling
5. The Mountain
6. Comeback Kid
7. Sea Song
8. Stone Fox
9. Straightaway
10. By My Side
Label: Newkirk Records
Website: www.surefireofficial.com
Hardrock Haven rating: 8/10