Some By Sea is a five piece Indie-Rock band hailing from the greater Seattle area, and after first impressions are instantly comparable to someone like Death Cab For Cutie; another band that calls the Northwest their home. What makes Some By Sea a tad different however is their attention to epic length. That, and the fact that their songs are also laden with string arrangements, xylophone and other diverse instrumentation. Just about half of On Fire!'s tracks run over the six minute mark, and the album itself clocks in at just over 70 minutes.

With an album of such scope and a brand new band on the scene, a strong presence up front is almost a must to keep a listener at attention. Unfortunately however, lead singer Chris Du Bray isn't as interesting as the symphony of music going on behind him. His lyrics are instantly forgettable, and vocally isn't as engaging as comparable singers like Ben Gibbard from Death Cab or someone like Eef Barzelay from Clem Snide. Most of the time during On Fire! I found myself trying to tune out Du Bray's constant whining, and just focus on what a great band musically Some By Sea really are. Even though Some By Sea aren't the greatest new thing to come along this year, they may give obsessive Death Cab fans more itch to scratch if they've exhausted all other options.