Detroit, MI · pop-punk · emo

Fireworks

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Detroit pop-punk with more literary ambition than the genre usually allows — scene-beloved records that read as well as they shout.

Fireworks formed in the Metro Detroit area in 2005, first releasing music through Run for Cover Records before signing to Triple Crown in 2008, the label that put out the bulk of their catalogue. Fronted by David Mackinder, the band became one of the more thoughtful groups in the late-2000s pop-punk revival.

They paired the genre's usual speed and vocal hooks with lyrics that were wordier and more introspective than the form typically invites, working through faith, doubt and small-town restlessness rather than the standard complaints. Early touring put them alongside Set Your Goals, Four Year Strong, New Found Glory and Saves the Day, including a first European run in 2009 supporting Set Your Goals.

Their debut full-length, All I Have to Offer Is My Own Confusion, came out in 2009, produced by Chad Gilbert of New Found Glory. Gospel, released in 2011, is generally treated as the point where the band's ambitions paid off; its video for 'Arrows' was named the year's best by Under the Gun Review. Oh, Common Life followed in 2014 with a slightly broader and more melodic palette, arriving on a tour alongside The Wonder Years, Real Friends, Citizen and Modern Baseball.

The band announced an indefinite hiatus in May 2015, after a North American tour. Mackinder and bandmate Mercer formed Empty Houses with singer Ali Shea, releasing the album Daydream on Sargent House in 2016. Drummer Teddy Roberts became a full-time member of Tigers Jaw in 2019, and Fireworks has returned periodically for shows since.

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pop-punkemo