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If you turn over the new Bill Mallonee CD, Friendly Fire, you will notice an old beat up tractor in the lower left quarter of the cover. Upon opening the CD you will see the battered grill of this tractor transformed into an equally work-weary microphone.  A better image of the music of Bill Mallonee one would be hard to pressed to find.  Much like a hard-working farmer Mallonee continues to plow the fields and scatter the seeds waiting for a bumper crop to befall him.  Year after year he continues to work hard sun up till sun down tilling the soil and persevering in the field he finds himself in.  His newest crop of songs comes to us in the form of Friendly Fire.

 Friendly Fire, as with last year’s crop, Dear Life, was funded by pre-sales to Mallonee’s loyal fan base.  Many of the songs were recorded in the same sessions as Dear Life, but don’t confuse the songs on this pressing of more band oriented Alt.country/rock with the mostly stripped back country songs of Dear Life. Long time fans will hear much more of the Vigilantes of Love in the sound of Friendly Fire than any previous solo offering from Mallonee. Though many would like to see a full return to the Audible Sigh era, Vigilantes of Love, while mostly content to ignore the Southern-fried Brit pop of Mallonee’s early solo work, on this offering it seems that the Athens, GA songwriter has found a way to incorporate both sounds in an appealing hybrid. 

“No Longer Bound” opens the CD with Mallonee returning to his trick of personifying feelings by saying, “I was drinking with obscurity…yes, she is the silent type” which brings to mind the opening line of “Goes Without Saying” from Audible Sigh – “failure she's a new found friend you let her sleep on the floor, when you rise to check out, well, she follows to the door.”  Listening to Dear Life and Friendly Fire back to back you would see the hauntingly stark personal confession of wanting approval that is “Songwriter (Numb)” ending Dear Life followed by a plea to be “No Longer Bound” to those feelings and failures opening Friendly Fire.  It seems that Mallonee is seeking to continue on planting, cultivating, and harvesting his songs looking for where, as he’s sung before, “(his) seed might find purchase.”

The second track, “Can’t Fake the Heartache,” is a personal account of love that has changed over the years, and as Mallonee sings “I know it’s hard to love me, I’m not good for your health, I know it’s hard to love me, baby, it’s hard to love yourself” the feeling is one we can all relate to.  Feelings that everyone can relate to continue on the next track, “Is that too much too ask?”  as Mallonee earnestly asks, “Oh, could I start with a brand new heart? Since the one I ripped was never going to last.  Is that too much to ask?”  With that the theme of a brand new start and release from the past started on track one continues.

“Friendly Fire,” written for a Vietnam vet Mallonee knew (the CD is dedicated to the armed forces) deviates from the strumming that permeates much of his playing for a more delicate approach while handling the themes of post traumatic stress, marital discord, and the search for meaning in life.

Tracks five and six (“Four Leaf Clover” and “With Any Luck At All” would easily have fit on the track list of _Dear Life_. Stripped back and filled with the same country tinged guitar accents and slide parts that are the hallmarks of that wonderful disc. 

“Of Future Partridge Families (back of the bus)” is a sugary pop-tune about the potential of new love and one of the tunes that hearkens back Perfumed Letter and breaks apart the myth that Mallonee can only write depressing songs about failure.  It also brings to mind “Carol Merrill” from Dear Life with its pop flare and baby-boomer pop culture reference.

The reoccurring theme of striving for a brand new start continues on “Second Guessing” as the lyric rolls out “One day we will gladly put away all that leads to second guessing, stumble hard under the curse and pray for this old universe.”

While peppering many of his songs with references to the love he shares with his wife, Mallonee spins out an entire song on this disc to profess his love to “the only girl for (him).” 

The record ends on a set of songs grounded in Mallonee’s faith.  The first, “Stained Glass Soul,” talks much of the Light shining to him through others around him.  It is a cry for community and the role of those around us in keeping us level and pointed in the right direction.  The fiddle work added by David Claassen is wonderful and memorable as it was in Dear Life.  “Apple of Your Eye” was written for Julie Miller and is a wonderful mix of paraphrased scripture and hymn imagery used to encourage his friend in the truth as many of us would over a cup of coffee.  Referencing scripture and hymns is nothing new to Mallonee ("Double Cure" most notably) but the effect this time is absolutely perfect.  In a career filled with strong songs, this is one of his best. I am not sure that there is a better way to end an album shot through with hope in a new beginning than by singing “grow ye never weary, grow ye never weary.”

After a short pause the bonus track “Punk Rock’s Dead” arrives.  The story of summer teen love, suburban despair and dreaming has been as staple of Mallonee’s solo performances for years and a fan favorite.  It’s great to see it here in official form and just as raw as it is live – distorted acoustic and all.

So out in the fields near Athens, GA is a man tending his crops with a beat up old tractor and the hope of a new beginning or maybe that’s a songwriter with a beat up microphone – it makes no difference, to both I say “grow ye never weary, grow ye never weary, of doing all the good you wanna do, keep your hands unto the plow and He will see you through…so when that final trumpet sounds, you will bring that flower forth, from the seed buried in the ground.”

Joel Kiekintveld

The ever prolific Bill Mallonee has produced the counterpart to last year's Dear Life with Friendly Fire.  With a few notable exceptions,
Friendly Fire takes a more optimistic look at life and its vagaries than its predecessor.  Mallonee, much like Bob Dylan and Neil Young,
again veers off in a different direction than his followers may expect.

The opener, "No Longer Bound," may be the best new song of the last three or four albums.  In a fashion, this song seems to be a defense
against those fans that have attempted to pigeonhole him:

"No longer bound/your friendship was my guard No longer bound/These chains have fallen off…

There are songs of self-pity
There are songs of the forsaken
If this struck your ear that way my friend
You're sadly mistaken.

Mallonee has never lacked for songs of love and self-loathing, and Friendly Fire is no exception there.  "You Were the Only Girl for Me,"
"Apple of Your Eye," and "With Any Luck at All" reveal the continued appreciation the artist expresses toward his wife, family, and God.
"Four Leaf Clover" and "Second Guessing" are much more introspective, brutally self-effacing in their appraisal of the person they describe.

"Punk Rock's Dead," a concert favorite of the last five years, finally makes it to disc on this release.  Along with "Of Future Partridge
Families (Back of the Bus)," the two songs serve to portray both sides of growing up: angst and hopefulness.

As this release and Dear Life were originally slated to be a double album, I played them together, along with the bonus EP Mallonee gave
to early purchasers of Dear Life.  The result was a more complete picture than the first album originally gave.  The songs balance each
other, and offer both darkness and light, hope and fear.  Friendly Fire works slightly better as a separate entity, and is a little more
coherent.

Brian A. Smith
30 April 2005
(4 of 5)

Brian A. Smith 
30 April 2005