Imagine having your heart lost out at sea or running amuck with ghost soldiers. Trap yourself in a world alongside vampires and phantoms, enveloped by the atmospheric sounds of guitar, percussion, keyboards, and bells.
This is the world you enter when listening to Fresno, CA’s indie band, Fierce Creatures. Their EP, I Mostri Feroci (release date July 6, 2010) is only a handful of songs. It is good because it takes you to a world unlike one pictured in California’s Central Valley. And like the clever tease, they break your heart by ending too soon. It leaves you wanting more. If a five song EP is this good already, can you imagine how awesome a full-length would be?
According to Nathaniel Stiers (bass guitar), Fierce Creatures is working hard on booking tour dates, landing television placements and creating new material. He, alongside Mike Adame (keys), Mathr Collom (vocals), Tomas Galvan (drums), Joel Melton (guitar), Jon Rulloda (guitar) and Amanda Valdez (vocals/auxiliary percussion), are on their way from becoming “Fresno’s best band” to an indie rock powerhouse.
Creating music that they hope will “stand the test of time,” Stiers states that their sound places them in a mix of genres – art-pop, indie rock, and folk mixed with orchestral. Although they may be compared to other bands (have seen fan comparisons with Arcade Fire), their music is unique and pleasant to listen to. It is mild, yet loud enough to make a crowd move. The orchestrations behind the haunting vocals of Collom and Valdez take you away to an existence that is anything but ordinary.
Travis Hawley from San Luis Obispo, CA’s, PK, says, “They’re a phenomenal band that has a smoky, haunted feeling about them… Their show left us and the rest of the audience in a mesmerized jaw dropped stupor and it will be exciting to see what great things happen with them.”
The complexities behind the music are a shared collaboration between all seven band members. The seasoned musicians work well together on lyrics and structure. The development process has resulted in a heartfelt appreciation from their home base. The Central Valley is not exactly known to be a breeding ground for popular music, but Stiers assures me that music there is alive and well.
He said that Fierce Creatures “lucked out.” The band is perceived as being refreshingly different from other acts. Despite the role that luck plays, what separates these musicians from others are their endless humanitarian efforts in the community. Playing charity shows and performing for non-profit organizations have given them not only exposure, but genuine appreciation as well. Although Fierce Creatures have ventured out to play in cities such as San Diego, Sacramento and Los Angeles, there is nothing like giving back to their first, initial fan base. Being labeled as “Fresno’s best band” has only inspired them to give more.
Their hard work is paying off. Online bloggers are consistently plugging I Mostri Feroci. Their track, “Satan is a Vampire,” continues to climb up online music charts. Word on the street is getting bigger and bigger and the band is making fans across the pond in Europe as well.
However, before leaving to tour foreign lands, Fierce Creatures have business to attend to stateside. They have a couple of gigs lined up in the Central Valley in January and February, sharing the stage with The Royal Bangs and The Silent Comedy, respectively. They are looking at the rest of 2011 with stern determination. These creatures are definitely fierce and are worth every listen.
