Though Vlor's first two EP releases in the '90s were of a core duo, by the time of the band's formal debut nearly a decade later, Vlor was one of the members --
Remora's Brian John Mitchell -- plus a slew of collaborators, each adding something to original pieces created by Mitchell and sent to them for completion.
A Fire Is Meant for Burning is as a result somewhere between a solo release with guests and a full-on collective, with Mitchell bringing in both musicians on his own Silber label and various fellow travelers elsewhere. The most prominent collaborators include
Aarktica's
Jon DeRosa,
Jessica Bailiff, Jesse Edwards of Red Morning Chorus, and
Nathan Amundson of
Rivulets, with
Lycia's Mike Van Portfleet and Paolo Messere of 6 PM providing other contributions. Starting with the gentle guitar meditation "Trust in Weapons," featuring
DeRosa,
A Fire Is Meant for Burning proves to be as warm and all-encompassing as the artwork suggests, with an equal emphasis on understated reverb and louder, more sternly powerful arrangements that suggest looming thunderstorms and dark evenings. "Wires" proves to be one of the strongest such songs, with literally everyone but Van Portfleet creating a massive collage of drones and feedback. Songs like "Houses Not Homes" and "New Machine" also play the just aggressive enough card, with the glazed layers of echo tempering the sharper edge of the riffs. Other standout numbers include "Horses in Deserts," with a softly loping key melody gently descending as Edwards,
Bailiff, and
Amundson add subtle textures and other guitar parts to the mix, and "Light at the Speed of Sound," like the first song consisting only of Mitchell and
DeRosa, playing a calm and quite beautiful guitar duet. ~ Ned Raggett