Flashbulb Fires want to spread their music one fan at a time, and they will have the opportunity to do so on their tour for their new album, Glory.

The up-and-coming band recently kicked off its tour on Feb. 24, and will be playing in St. Louis on March 10 at the Firebird. Those attending the performance can expect to be entertained.

“You are not going to go to a show and be bombarded for 45 minutes with the same sounding song over and over,” electric guitarist and singer Michael James said.

He explained that the band tries to keep shows very dynamic. During one song, James will be playing the trashcan lids.

While on tour, the band travels around in a van that has been dubbed “The Explorer.”

“She is a reliable, lovely beast of a car,” James said.

On this tour they will be promoting their new album, Glory, which they wanted to be a return to the album as an art form.

“From the inception of the album, we wanted to create something as a whole… something that is a piece of art by itself, not nine separate pieces of art,” James said.

He explained that the band wanted the album to be similar to those of the ‘60s and ‘70s, before technology enabled listeners to pick and choose the songs they like.

“If they only like one song, they only have to buy one song,” James said.

Flashbulb Fires’ music has been compared to that of Grizzly Bear’s and Radiohead’s, and this could be because the band draws some influence from them.

“Those bands are definitely showing up in our music from time to time,” James said.

Glory has also been described as having a pop aspect to it. However, James said that this is accurate only to a certain degree.

“We try and keep our songs really dynamic… one of our goals is to try and do things that haven’t been done before,” James said.

He explained that the band tries to push its own boundaries, and that nothing is worth repeating.
Lyrically, Glory was influenced greatly by the religious conflict of singer Patrick McGuire. There is also influence from “modern suburban America conflict.”

“America is very distinct at this moment in time. It’s not the America we grew up reading about in history books…The songs speak to that, where we are as a youth in these times,” James said.

Although McGuire sings about his personal experiences, he does so in a way that listeners will be able to relate.

“The themes are broad enough that listeners can latch on and take certain songs as they will and find their own meaning,” James said. “There is a feeling of atmosphere and space. It’s a wall of sound.”

Though the band has been playing together for about three years, James said that it took them a while to find their footing in the beginning. They hadn’t quite found what made them unique yet. Therefore, there was a sort of “generic-ness.”  However, with Glory, they have found this uniqueness through the use of horns, strings and three- and four-part harmony.

“If we had a room full of every kind of instrument and musician, what would we write?” James said. “That defines us now from where we started.”

For more information about Flashbulb Fires, visit www.myspace.com/flashbulbfires.