A few years ago I was listening to this band called Surrounded By Lions who hail from Bellevue, WA — not too far from my hometown of Everett, WA. Surrounded By Lions uniquely blended Pop and Rock within the voice of James Hill whose pipes could produce both a striking calmness and some fantastic yelping. Evolution Vol. 1 was (and still is) one of those albums I'd play whenever I didn't know what else to listen to — it'll always be there for me in times of need. A while after Vol. 1 they released Evolution Vol. 2 — also very impressive.

Then, like many bands barely out of high school who don't hit the big-time, they soon parted ways for college and/or other projects. One member, Kyle O'Quin, went on to form Kay Kay And His Weathered Underground while James Hill focused on his solo career. So far he's put out four full-length recordings — all of which you can download for free on his website! — and all of which I have thoroughly enjoyed. The "World On Fire!" E.P. is no different — by way of me enjoying it. But, musically — although nicely done and fresh — it leaves me wanting to backtrack to his previous works.

The main qualm I have with this 4-song cut is that it completely abandons his acoustic aesthetic. For me, it is absent of that conversational quality that he had with his guitar. This is most evident in the re-recording of a lovely duet entitled, That's Love. The original recording was a gorgeously intimate lyrical conversation between Terra Brigando (who is replaced by Amy Rockwell in the new version) and James Hill. Not since Almost Paradise had a duet seemed so powerful to me.* Adding the piano, drums and strings took away those elements that made the previous version so great. Instead of listening to two people connect musically I felt I was listening to two people simply record together. The other revisited song, It's My Day, also feels foreign compared to it's original while Something's Wrong and Nothing's Gonna Change, the other tracks, provide a good listen but gain little momentum compared to his one man, one guitar endeavors.

I hate to come down so hard on this album because it really is good, it's just not what I'm used to. Don't get me wrong, I am all for change in music (Bob Dylan going electric, The Beatles going psychedelic, The Deftones going White Pony and even William Shatner making a comeback) but this evolution just feels unnecessary and I believe James and his guitar could have such a beautiful future as a monogamous pair.