PRESS
"Fantastic album [...] Perhaps, the best German band since Faust! [...] Fir Cone Children have an individual spark. [...] It sounds like it was recorded in 1979 when New Wave (Post Punk) creativity took hold for a couple of years and no two bands were the same!" - Monolith co*cktail (UK)
"Dammit Donat, you did it again! [...] How anyone has so many killer hooks baffles me. [T]his album is showing signs of real life starting to creep into our protagonists’ minds. [W]e get a new, more direct and atmospheric album that evolves Fir Cone Children for another year. These kids don’t stop growing and neither will this project and that, right there, fills me with joy." - Static Sounds Club (SCO)
"Amazingly revved-up songs that ping-pong from the jittery post-punk of Devo to GBV at their most radiant." - Bandcamp (USA)
"Donat should not have been able to get away with this at all. And yet he does, gloriously. He once again throws a whole bunch of his favorite genres (punk, shoegaze, psych, black metal) in the blender and dubs it “dream punk”. And it is. [...] Much more than just the sum of its parts, this blend of genres that should not work actually does. It uplifts, surprises, stirs up your brain, fries it, and serves it to you on a well produced sound platter. [...] And there are of course blender versions of those two sides [jumpy, surfy Vs dreamy, gazy] like the Alcest-inspired Another You on which Jesus And The Mary Chain have caught themselves in a blast beat drumming contest that they are not ready to lose." - Weirdo Shrine (NL)
"The album's strength lies in the fact that it sharpens the eye for the underrepresented. [...] Topics that seem irrelevant at first glance are developed by Fir Cone Children into an album-spanning concept. This is how they create their unique selling point and fill the content of the album with an almost existential urgency. While the shoegaze of "Another You" addresses the contradictions of human emotions and is reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine and the Cheatahs, "Fills Up Every Inch" increases this mood immeasurably. The atmospheric wafting and the oppressive beat seem like the acoustic answer to the menace of the world that one would like to dream away from." - VISIONS (GER)
"[W]hat makes Fir Cone Children interesting at all times is the connection between lyrics and sound. Nothing is out of the ordinary here. [It] ensures an ever-present lightness and some slightly strange catchy tunes, but whose energy is infectious. [The music] is positive and excitedly jittery [...] the fact that the family is basically the most valuable thing for every person is also clear in the music. [...] In terms of sound, dreamy post-punk, as cultivated by bands like The Cure, goes hand in hand with shoegaze elements, which ensure the fluffy attitude. The childlike inspiration always comes through through little sound games." - musikreviews.de (GER)
"[A] figment of energy. [...] Fluffy, but also serious shoegaze with a punk edge [...] It's really amazing how versatile Alexander Leonard Donat is. Hardly any other artist in the alternative scene manages to keep sounding new while remaining exciting and authentic. [...] Fir Cone Children is not aimed at children, but at us adults, some of whom have forgotten or buried the child in us. Let's get it back out and let it breathe. And let's take a song title as a model: 'Let's Defy Everyday Life'!" - Unter.Ton (GER)
"It's never too late to have a happy childhood. You just have to look for it. [...] Donat has a hell of a party. In the creative sound workshop where Alex processes dream pop and punk sounds into an independent sonic image, things have seldom been as happy and over the top as in the opener, "Time Needs An Upgrade". When I hear THE POLICE vocals sprinkled in, and "Truth hits everyone" in "Snowblack", it's THE CURE's melancholy that characterizes "Spider School". So stay curious and use the valuable resource to harness the child in you." - Underdog Fanzine (GER)
"Fabulous [...] "One spin turns into a dozen, a dozen spins into many days and nights, hours and minutes spent with the ninth studio album by Fir Cone Children. 'The Urge To Overtake Time' takes the listener on a comprehensive journey, changing decades as quickly as the colorful jackets back then turned into dark ones, on a blissful journey from the present to the past, through the eyes of today's children." - Saitenkult (GER)
"Alexander Donat really is one of the most productive musicians of the last 10 years. [...] The album opens with the frantic Time Needs An Upgrade [...] clattering drums [...] dark tones swirling like an early morning snowstorm [...] chugging guitars weave around the synths [T]his is urgent and hopeful for being able to live the life you want without worries; frantic drumming and flailing guitars lead towards the bass breakdown, as this aims for a new better every day than before." - Whisperin & Hollerin (IRE)
"I really enjoy that there is a variety in the pacing of these songs, but on both sides and overall it both starts and ends with a bang. [...] On this Fir Cone Children cassette I became rather excited by pressing play as it begins in a rather punk rock way. This takes us into the second song, "Snowblack", which has more of a twee feel to it but there are also parts with a really loud guitar. "Another You" has big distortion and feels like some sort of -gaze. It's hypnotic in the delivery of the vocals and then becomes rapid fire at the end. "Fills Up Every Inch" is a slower, more dramatic song that has me thinking of Trail Of Dead." - Raised By Cassettes (USA)
"‘Dream-Punk’ [...] perfectly defines the content. [...] This project confirms the diversity of Alexander Donat who clearly appears to be a true chameleon when it comes to music. Most of his projects are related to each other but Fir Cone Children is probably the most atypical one. It sounds eclectic while this album is driven by dynamic drum sections and guitar play sometimes reminding me of The Housemartins." - Side-Line Magazine (BEL)
"Music for children can be quite nerve-wracking or thrilling in an exciting, interesting sense: as in this case, because the concept of Fir Cone Children is a kind of annual diary for the development of the daughters of the mastermind behind the act (now 8 and 10 years old) to write. The whole thing is called “Dreampunk for kids” and is an intense and energetic mixture of indie rock, gothic pop and noise – which makes our inner child jump for joy." - Tonspion (GER)
"Donat takes us on another starling roller coaster that tries to defy gravity with storming force and rapid-fire velocity. Expect 3 minutes of spiralling speed on repeat. This is what happens when you accelerate and reinforce a catching melody." - Turn Up The Volume (BEL)
"Fir Cone Children blend an influence of shoegaze and post punk effectively. The drums pump with frustrated urgency as gritty guitars fight against dreamy melodic intrusions. The layers transform into one beautiful noise, like its own complicated organism, adapting in jest of the vocals equalizing pull. That pull falls to the dark side in the songs dramatic ending, as if the demons have won out. The affect is enraging, fit to send a crowd to a frenzy, but still melodic enough to capture a broad indie audience. Fans of shoegaze stand outs like Nothing and DIIV should connect with this sound. We think it’s a great rock song in any format." - The Wild Is Calling (USA)
"Donat is and remains a unique and versatile guy! Secretly, [Fir Cone Children] may have become one of my favorite projects of his and that while I also like the rest. Fir Cone Children has now looked a little more towards the darker and more noisy side, which has certainly opened the door for me more. With his catchy vocals which are performed in perfect English he also throws high pitches." - De Subjectivisten (NL)
"The piercing chords means that 'Another You' places us clearly in a last century disposition, more noise rock than shoegaze which means the vocals are more pronounced and distinct from the velocity of the feedback happening all around. I do think Fir Cone Children are onto something as a result, a little Ride in there so a good fit for our 90's Alive playlist" - mp3hugger (IRE)
"This album brings us an enchanting tapestry of soundscapes, which directly inspires us to keep our boundless imagination and curiosity and not let our youthful spirit be suppressed by societal expectations. [...] Uptempo and with rolling guitar lines comes the playful 'Time Needs An Upgrade', with “lalalas” and “‘woohoos”, but also punky screams like “Come on, come on!”. Despite the fast snare fills that set the pace in "Snowblack" it is a dreamy track where we hear Donat's voice both go into the dreamy highs and explore the lows. With a lot of garage rock elements, "Another You" sounds melancholy beautiful, with luminous, melodic guitar details and pumping drumming. What a combination of a a track order!" - Luminous Dash (BEL)
"We love 'Another You'" - Prémonition (FRA)
"Essential energy" - Ignore Radio Shoegaze (IRL)
"Psyched-out garage-y indie rock that feels like crowdsurfing a sea of candy floss. Expect 90s inspired urban teenage dreams mangled through through a blender of modern garage punk that would not be out of place on the same record label as bands like Thee Oh Sees, Franky And The Witch Fingers, Lovvers, or Wavves. Feel good music that provides the right amount of hazy energy kick for when you’re down." - Weirdo Shrine (NL)
