Reunions can easily become exercises in nostalgia, but ‘Fire with Fire’ suggests The Cuts have come back for all the right reasons. The Paisley band’s first release since reforming feels driven by renewed chemistry, delivering a sharp, energetic indie-rock track with enough personality to stand on its own.
Written by Neil Walker after the band got back together, the song was the piece that reopened the door creatively. ‘Fire with Fire’ has the immediacy of a band remembering how much fun this can be, with punchy guitars, strong rhythmic movement and a hook-first approach that recalls the best of mid-2000s indie without becoming overly dependent on it.
There are traces of The View and Franz Ferdinand in the urgency, but The Cuts prefer to make a more direct impact. The track has a playful streak running underneath its more serious edge, and that contrast gives it more personality than a straightforward revivalist single might have managed.
Captured on analogue equipment at Green Door Studio in Glasgow, ‘Fire with Fire’ retains a rougher, more physical quality that suits the band’s live-first mentality. There’s little sense of the song being overly corrected or polished into submission. Instead, the performance is allowed to breathe, with the energy between Walker, Kieren Docherty, James Robertson and drummer Craig Brown doing much of the work.
As the first taste of an EP due later this year, ‘Fire with Fire’ makes for a strong reintroduction. Lively, catchy and refreshingly unpretentious, it captures The Cuts sounding like a band pleased to have found a reason to move forward again.
