I’m not entirely sure why, but the introductory synth loop on Forest Fire’s “Waiting in the Night” blaringly screams “OWL CITY” at my ears and face. Fortunately for all of us, however, the first strums of a verbed-out guitar and the hits of a chillaxed drumbeat shoo-away those fireflies in an effortless fashion. You see, “Waiting in the Night” (the first release in anticipation of Forest Fire’s fall release Screens) is all about effortlessness, whether it’s the way Mark Thresher’s vocals barely register above breathing or the way the band meshes electronic sounds with acoustic ones.
Take the second time those synths bust in, between the first chorus and the second verse. Here their bleeping blorps blend beautifully with the acoustic strums to perfect an already dreamy and weightless atmosphere. And then Thresher’s vocals — a whispering Dan Bejar that’s somehow sexy, slick, and strangely slimy — floating delicately above it all, topping off a track that never begs you to get lost in it but you know you’re going to wind up lost regardless. “Waiting in the Night” is truly that something worth waiting for.