An artist who loves to play around with different genres, the ever surprising Adam + Attack By Fire returns with new single, Floral Park.
By Graeme Smith
Floral Park sees Adam + Attack By Fire take on rock and roll in a short, quick-fire number that is as edgy as it is soft and gentle. There’s some wonderful poetry, as always, in the lyrics, painting a nostalgic picture of places long forgotten and faces remembered. “Kathy with the nails, setting sail, smoking cigs with the girls from Floral Park,” goes one sequence. “I will see you again in Floral Park,” goes another. Each new line provokes another image in your mind. There’s a tremendous sense of place in all of it, and repetition is deployed to great effect.
Machine gun verses trade blows with laidback choruses. There are some pleasant handclaps and snatches of backing vocals while Adam’s lead stays charismatic and characterful throughout. A quirkiness to the arrangement keeps things fresh right to its lingering close. Rock and roll doesn’t full encapsulate it, but it’s the closest description I think I’ll find.
We’ve been covering the work of Adam + Attack By Fire, a project led by Adam Tarsitano, since November 2024. Hailing from Apex, USA, he is a genre chameleon who effortlessly switches styles with grace and apparent ease. Each new track of his we’ve shared has shown us a different side of his sound. Chateau Clink was mysterious and Bowie-esque. Rhythm That Was brought with it timeless folk. All Good Hair Bands channelled the best of ’80s synth pop, Freight Train and Thunder was more Beatles-like. We’ve even had some glam rock in the form of Song For Georgia.
I didn’t foresee quick-fire rock and roll for his next release, but Tarsitano does continually surprise me. I won’t hazard a guess as to what comes next, but I know it’ll be special based on what we’ve heard so far. No doubt, Tarsitano is building to an EP or album release and it’ll be interesting to see how the disparate genres can be corralled into a whole. Perhaps, as another York Calling favourite Mortal Prophets does, we’ll get whole albums dedicated to each style.
All that is just speculation. For now, let’s just enjoy the wonder that is Floral Park. If you haven’t checked out Adam + Attack by Fire’s other tracks, then I strongly advise doing that too.
Floral Park is out now and you can give it a listen below.
