Broken
Fires have released two tracks from their forthcoming third studio album,
showcasing the band’s diverse strengths through the striking contrast between
the two songs. “Lighthouse” emphasizes melody and harmony, including choral
harmony, as the band nostalgically reflects on a landmark of their homeland. In
comparison, “East London Hotel” features power vocals, driving guitar, and
lyrics about the futility of objecting to gentrification. [The lyrics of both
songs are included in this post.]
“Lighthouse”
begins with non-complex, yet emotionally effective, solidary guitar that
supports engaging harmony. A synth soon enters, followed by piano, but the
vocals remain the focal point. The lyrics repeat three times, but the variations
in presentation mask the repetition. The final iteration begins with the song’s
most powerful moment, before gently returning to the understated beauty of the
opening. Broken Fires, a Wales-based band, explain that “Lighthouse” was written
on an industrial estate in Croydon whilst feeling the pain of missing the
beauty of the Welsh coastline. More poetically, they state:
“This is a song about a lighthouse made of iron, weathering the thick Welsh rain off the coast of Swansea. But fundamentally, it's about a longing for home. Sometimes we all need a lighthouse. A familiar, protective beacon that survives and guides us through the chaos of the storm.”
The
opening of “East London Hotel” is anything but gentle, with a forceful guitar immediately setting the tone. But the sound initially aligns more with another part of the
UK - Scotland. The first verse even gives a nod to Scottish whisky. The band describes
the track as blending “Biffy Clyro-esque guitars with unashamed melodic hooks
to make a slightly bitter alt-pop cocktail about gentrification.” “East London
Hotel” was written on the back of a bus on a journey home through Shoreditch
London. The song was inspired by the epidemic of commercial developments
turning once precious cultural spaces into pretentious hangouts.
“East
London Hotel” has the feel of a power anthem, but temporarily relaxes into a
vocals-driven segment at 1:42. The song begins to return to its Rock roots 18
seconds later.
Broken
Fires are from Swansea, UK. The credits to “Lighthouse” identify the composers
and lyricists as Thomas Stephens (lead vocals, guitar), Gareth Carter (guitar),
Justin Hendy (guitar), and David Francis (drums), but pictures of the band often
show six, and sometimes seven, musicians. Their upcoming album is scheduled for
release in autumn 2025.
“Lighthouse”
by Broken Fires
“This is a song about a lighthouse made of iron, weathering the thick Welsh rain off the coast of Swansea. But fundamentally, it's about a longing for home. Sometimes we all need a lighthouse. A familiar, protective beacon that survives and guides us through the chaos of the storm.”
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“East London Hotel” by Broken Fires
LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/brokenfires
“East London Hotel” by Broken Fires
Lyrics of “Lighthouse” by Broken Fires
Back where I’m from,
There’s a lighthouse that shines.
It’s been guarding the ground.
Where they’ll scatter me out.
The salt hits my skin,
And the iron looks tired.
As we walk arm in arm,
Through the beauty of home
Lyrics of “East London Hotel” by Broken Fires
The neatest Scottish whiskey flows,
Into tumblers trimmed with gold,
At an east London hotel.
We all struggle to be seen,
Where privilege drips from pipes and beams,
At an east London hotel.
The outsiders are creeping in,
And fuck I know I’m part of it,
But there’s nothing you can do about it.
Blood under the fingernails,
Buying out the heart of things,
But a deal is a deal, I guess.
At an east London hotel.
At an east London hotel.
At an east London hotel.
I know,
You struggle to know what struggle is and,
I know,
You’re bedding down where privilege lives so,
Cut the cord,
Push a wall of sound through worn out walls.
I know,
There’s blood under your fingernails and,
I know,
They try to make it complicated,
And I know,
There’s nothing we can do about it.
At an east London hotel.
I know,
You struggle to know what struggle is and,
I know,
You’re bedding down where privilege lives so,
Cut the cord,
Push a wall of sound through worn out walls.
I know,
There’s blood under your fingernails and,
I know,
They try to make it complicated,
And I know,
There’s nothing we can do about it.
At an east London hotel.
At an east London hotel.
At an east London hotel.
At an east London hotel.
Back where I’m from,
There’s a lighthouse that shines.
It’s been guarding the ground.
Where they’ll scatter me out.
The salt hits my skin,
And the iron looks tired.
As we walk arm in arm,
Through the beauty of home
Lyrics of “East London Hotel” by Broken Fires
The neatest Scottish whiskey flows,
Into tumblers trimmed with gold,
At an east London hotel.
We all struggle to be seen,
Where privilege drips from pipes and beams,
At an east London hotel.
The outsiders are creeping in,
And fuck I know I’m part of it,
But there’s nothing you can do about it.
Blood under the fingernails,
Buying out the heart of things,
But a deal is a deal, I guess.
At an east London hotel.
At an east London hotel.
At an east London hotel.
I know,
You struggle to know what struggle is and,
I know,
You’re bedding down where privilege lives so,
Cut the cord,
Push a wall of sound through worn out walls.
I know,
There’s blood under your fingernails and,
I know,
They try to make it complicated,
And I know,
There’s nothing we can do about it.
At an east London hotel.
I know,
You struggle to know what struggle is and,
I know,
You’re bedding down where privilege lives so,
Cut the cord,
Push a wall of sound through worn out walls.
I know,
There’s blood under your fingernails and,
I know,
They try to make it complicated,
And I know,
There’s nothing we can do about it.
At an east London hotel.
At an east London hotel.
At an east London hotel.
At an east London hotel.
