The Fire and Reason- Japanese .Love. kill

On their debut 4-song EP, Japanese.Love.Kill, New York City duo (now trio) The Fire and Reason rip through a brief but blistering set of electro-rock. Playing on the obvious sex appeal of vocalist Bella Saona (and rightfully so), the band's sound is driven by electronic rhythms and anchored by catchy electronic and guitar hooks, blending alt rock, pop, goth, and industrial influences into a package that's aggressive yet melodic and, often, danceable. The production, despite the album's largely electronic skeletal frame, often comes off sounding quite organic and intuitive. The songs are also well written and do a very good job of utilizing the band's strengths, from Saona's processed vocals, sometimes countered by male vocals, to their layered percussion and balance of organic guitars and electronics.

Kicking off with the punchy synth bass and excellent distorted vocals of its energetic title track, the album then moves onto the thumping percussion and great chorus melodies of the spectacular plodding electro-rocker "Death Parade". "Her Evil" is a bass-driven cacophony, perhaps the album's most goth-oriented and organic rock offering, while "Teeth", the band's wisely chosen debut single and the EP's closer, is a dark tale of lust and stolen love disguised as a sinister club number with an angst-ridden, crunchy rock chorus.

Sounding something like the bastard child of Republica and PJ Harvey raised on a diet of NIN, Angelfish, Sister Soleil and Primal Scream, The Fire and Reason provide quite a show on Japanese.Love.Kill, the EP's only real flaw being its brief 13-minute duration. Likely to appeal to mainstream alternative/electro-rock fans as well as the goth and industrial crowds, the band's excellent debut hints at a bright future.