Before the Eulogy

Wind-Up just wasnt the right fit for Boy Sets Fire. The band admitted as much on their website, after theyd gotten out of the deal and signed with Equal Vision, a label more palatable to their live wire post-hardcore. The bands first EV release is Before the Eulogy, a collection of rarities and unreleased material that, obviously, predate the 2000 Victory breakthrough After the Eulogy. Early demo tracks like "Turn the Key" and "One Subject Notebook" prove the fire started early; the songs owe a lot to Fugazi and the vigor of youth, but they still hold the intangibles of a rock-solid band. In Chrysalis, a 1998 EP for Initial, is here in its entirety; "Loser of the Year" emphasizes BSFs melodic center, while the Dead Kennedys "Holiday in Cambodia" is hectic and anxious, like theyre singing it as they escape over reams of razor wire. The last part of Before the Eulogy includes the Suckerpunch Training EP and a roundup of compilation tracks, the best of which is probably the raucous "No Time Safe." Sure, Fugazis an influence again. But the passion flying every which way inside this track could never, ever be faked. ~ Johnny Loftus