FIREHOSE offers sophisticated but spiky punk/rock that is inventive, compact, crisp and precise. Never merely noisy, the band are a tight, muscular unit capable of using brief musical pauses or sudden shifts in direction for punch just as much as speed, dexterity and volume. The bass and the drums are unusually prominent in the mix, sometimes stealing the show. During their slickest moments FIREHOSE can actually groove like a jazz band, but overall this is no-nonsense rock, constantly inventive, and following a clear structure (not predictable, but clear). Usually the music is very melodic and it makes sense immediately, but it is almost always highly percussive, funky even. The songs are brief and have an uncluttered natural sound of a band having fun.