Arms’ folk sound is on fire

Alison Smyth

Arms

Kids Aflame

Label: Gigantic Music

Released: Oct. 27

Rating: B

Rocks… Alison Smyth

Arms

Kids Aflame

Label: Gigantic Music

Released: Oct. 27

Rating: B

Rocks like: Harlem Shakes meets Grizzly Bear

Arms self-released an EP in 2006, and “Tiger Tamer” found its way onto KEXP’s song of the day.

Three years later, the band has released Kids Aflame, and it feels like a reunion with a friend from high school.

The song builds in an optimistic crash, with a blend of sound and whimsical images. “Tiger Tamer” fits in with the newer tracks seamlessly, yet it has its own style.

The bouncy tracks, like “Sh*tty Little Disco,” bring to mind Harlem Shakes with their keyboard and driving beats.

But the folk-inspired acoustics and harmonies spark comparisons to Grizzly Bear’s latest release, similar to Kids Aflame with its plucked strings and distant backup vocals.

The album rings with a rocking, wistful vocal quality. “Sad, Sad, Sad” captures melancholy in its sliding style and lyrics of mundane life.

There’s no question that lines such as “Days alone are the days you dread the most / Counting down the hours in caffeine and morning shows” sounds pretty dismal.

Arms creates a folk-inspired, shoe-gazing rock that should be all things melancholy, but it remains inadvertently optimistic.