by Roch ParisienFireships is one of Hammill's most consistently quiet, intimate works; a collection of relationship odes similar in mood to 1984's The Love Songs. Hammill, even at his most reflective, is highly poetic and intense. Each of the nine numbers is given ample room to breathe, with most ranging between 5 and 7 minutes. A hint of tragedy, a smoldering fire, burns below the surface of even the most languorous numbers, like the highlight "His Best Girl."