by Matthew KantorBill Steer (ex-Carcass) hooks up with members of Cathedral and Spiritual Beggars? Sounds extremely promising. Thus it's extremely disappointing that Firebird sounds like a bar band most of the time, the best bar band in town but a bar band nonetheless. The right elements are occasionally present -- the weighty blues riff of"Stranger to Himself," the distorted bass rumble on"One Trick Pony," the acoustic Zeppelin-ish intro that leads into"Through the Fields." However, any potential is stunted by either bland changes or bland production. The only real bright spot is"Bollard," where a cool, lava lamp moodiness is offset by Steer's dense bottom-end guitar. Steer's vocals, nearing Jack Bruce territory, are also a strong point but cannot save the whole album. It's a plus that Firebird sounds nothing like Carcass but, because of the connection, one still expects a certain level of inventiveness and drive. Firebird come up lacking on both these points; hopefully the band will still find its voice and not settle on the sound of this debut.