Fireworks hinted at a new direction with what many assumed would be their final bow, 2014’s Oh, Common Life, the effervescent pop-punk group incorporating quirkier power-pop and finding themselves consciously freed of the pressures of trying to creatively please anyone but themselves. A year later, they announced a hiatus “to give the other sides of life a try.” Members spent time exploring entirely new musical projects and taking a break from the grind of full-time band life.
A peculiar campaign in 2019 signaled something was brewing: A mysterious website with a survey on one’s very personal beliefs unlocked a bold new song. Behind the scenes, the band had indeed reconvened with six of their members: guitarist/vocalist Brett Jones; vocalist David Mackinder; keyboardist/vocalist/guitarist Adam Mercer; guitarist/vocalist Chris Mojan; bassist Kyle O'Neil; and drummer/vocalist Ted Roberts. They were getting ready to reveal Higher Lonely Power.
They had started writing and recording Higher Lonely Power, their planned fourth full-length, late that year. But, as one might guess, the COVID-19 pandemic brought the process to a halt; the studio the band recorded at temporarily closed, and all individual parties followed the calls to isolate for safety until life began to reach normalcy again some time later.
By spring 2022, Fireworks had wrapped up work on Higher Lonely Power, and now they’re finally ready to unveil it to a world that’s burning. Higher Lonely Power aims to sum up our hellish landscape with a big, ambitious return for the band: It’s a wild and sprawling affair that eschews all preconceived musical notions that Fireworks’ followers have come to be familiar with.
