There Will Be Fireworks
The Dark Dark Bright

The air was fresh, not cold, even though it was January: perhaps thanks to the sea, which, being so close to the city, somehow moderates the temperature. We decided to do something different, and to take the bus directly to the sea, to the city's beach, to Portobello. I'm sick, I realize, but everything in this city fascinates and enchants me, and the fact that the same place has highlands, lakes, enchanting historical sites, an incredible culture, and a beach had put me in a state of feverish excitement since waking up.

As we get closer to our destination, the environment changes: more colorful and low houses, an atmosphere more like a Cornish village than the capital of Scotland, signs and shops that seem to come straight out of the fifties. As we get off the bus, a light drizzle greets us, but we are used to it, and a few steps later here we are in front of the sea: everything here is perfect, it feels like living a scene from "Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind". Despite the rain, there are children who, in their puffer jackets, play barefoot on the sand, and with their little shovels they go to collect the sand wet by the waves, then bring it back to build castles, all under the eyes of their parents holding inevitable big cups of coffee.

A little further on, dogs play on the sand, chasing each other and chasing toys thrown by their owners. The air is crisp, but time seems stopped, frozen in a photo that I can live in, where everything seems to be in its place, and that little stall selling hot chocolate on the promenade has the charm of an unexpected discovery, as if it's there just for you, to make you emotional in front of so much well-being. In fact, nothing happens; you sit on a stool with your girlfriend, sipping a hot chocolate, playing with the marshmallows you've been given, and chatting with the affable kiosk owners, with only the sound of the sea, the chatter of children, and barking dogs around you, but it's everything you need to feel good. And it's beautiful when it's the little things that bring you happiness and make you smile, and it's even more beautiful when, nearly a year later, you're able to relive those same feelings as if you were still there, feeling them so intensely that it almost makes you cry with joy and nostalgia. "We are a band from Glasgow, Scotland, and we enjoy making music." So simply, There Will Be Fireworks (from now on TWBF) introduce themselves to those approaching them. I got to know them through their label, based in Edinburgh, but as soon as I started listening to "The Dark Dark Bright" for the first time, I immediately fell in love with this group. Ours propose a genre that can be generally referred to as post-rock: frequent are the emotional climaxes that start from simple acoustic arpeggios or a bass-drum crescendo, only to explode into a choral overwhelming and astonishing impact on the listener. In the tracks that form this album, I hear notes of Explosions in the Sky, but also of Damien Rice (the consolatory delicacy of the Irishman is also very present in the singer's voice of this band), of Arcade Fire and GY!BE (in the symphonic epicness and crescendos of some tracks) and Brand New (many small nods to "The Devil and God..."). TWBF do not invent anything, I believe it's clear (also because in this genre, what else can you still invent when there are Godspeed, to name one randomly?), but they do something simple, they know how to evoke emotions. And they do so with things that are equally simple and perhaps predictable, they play with memories, with smiles and tears, console and make you smile, put you at ease, make you think, and keep you company. In short, they are like that hot chocolate taken on the Portobello seafront in Edinburgh last January: something small, insignificant, but every time you think about it, it can calm you, remind you of a happy moment, and perhaps, even make you a little emotional.