The Kissaway Trail (formerly known as Isles or as Hostmom) are an undergrou… Read Full Bio ↴The Kissaway Trail (formerly known as Isles or as Hostmom) are an underground indie/artrock band from Odense, Denmark.
The band has five members:
Thomas L. Fagerlund - Vocals, Guitar
Søren B. Corneliussen - Vocals, Guitar
Daniel Skjoldmose - Guitar, Keys, Backing Vocals
Rune Pedersen - Bass, Backing vocals
Hasse Mydtskov - Drums, Backing vocals

Their sound is quite similar to some other Danish bands, such as The Figurines, Moi Caprice and Mew. Internationally, comparisons can be made to Modest Mouse, Mercury Rev, Arcade Fire and the Flaming Lips.

Three members of The Kissaway Trail (Søren, Thomas and Rune) originally recorded together under the names of ‘Hostmom’ and ‘Isles’. Isles self-released an album called "We have decided not to die" in 2005. Since then, an additional guitarist, Daniel, and drummer Hasse joined the band, while Thomas started to sing alongside Søren making the distinctive two lead-vocal sound that they have today. Various tracks from this early period of the bands history can still be downloaded from Danish music websites. The band’s musical existence very nearly ended when Søren lost his love for music after his father was killed under tragic circumstances. However, he made his own decision to start performing and recording again, and The Kissaway Trail started to create their debut album.

Their material is released in Europe (aside from Scandinavia) and Japan by Bella Union, Etch n Sketch in Australia and New Zealand, and Playground Music in Scandinavia. On their breakthrough album underground producer Morten Frank helped them in the studio.

The title of their song 61 relates to the number of days a band member had to wait to hear if their family member had a terminal illness. The member involved is kept under wraps, obviously for very personal reasons; some fans believe it is Hasse, the drummer, because he has a tattoo of the number '61' on his chest. Other sources suggest he just might have got the tattoo because, according to his own admission, 61 is his favourite song to play live.

In the Autumn of 2007, The Kissaway Trail acted as the main support for Editors on their UK and European tours, alongside Ra Ra Riot in the UK and The Boxer Rebellion in Europe.

The Kissaway Trail are renowned for their own individual slant on the English language within their lyrics.

The band have cited influences to their music include The Beach Boys, Granddaddy, Daniel Johnston and Sonic Youth, amongst others. The lack of an obvious way to describe their music has brought common comparisons between themselves and the Polyphonic Spree and Canadian band the Arcade Fire. There is some truth with these similarities.

The band have been known for their live performances, which have included songs from 'The Kissaway Trail', as well as b-sides such as 'Romeo And Romeo' and 'La Mia'. They have also performed at the Wireless, Latitude and SXSW festivals in 2007, and the Montreaux Jazz Festival in 2008, where they supported Interpol and The National.

The band released an EP called "Into the Ocean and Rise Again" in 2006, and their debut album called "The Kissaway Trail" was released in 2007 from which 3 singles have been taken to date (Smother + Evil = Hurt, La La Song & 61

Friendly Fire
The Kissaway Trail Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

My kingdom for a cellar door.
The ship sank, too much liquid
And too heavy guns behind them
Heavy drinkers
Heavy soils
No place for trees like us.
They fought fire, with friendly fire.
We eluded capture by hiding

In the dark, in the dark
In a park

Near where we grew up
We don't care about them

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to The Kissaway Trail's song "Friendly Fire" paint a picture of a ship sinking, weighed down by its cargo of heavy guns and heavy drinkers. The singer longs for a "cellar door" - a way out of this chaos - but there seems to be no escape. Instead, they hide in the dark, eluding capture and finding some solace in a park near their childhood home. The lines "They fought fire, with friendly fire" are particularly interesting, as they suggest that the very people who are supposed to be helping are actually causing harm.

To me, this song seems to be about feeling trapped in a situation that is beyond one's control, whether that be a sinking ship or some other metaphorical struggle. The use of nature imagery - "No place for trees like us" - emphasizes the feeling of being out of place and at the mercy of forces beyond our understanding. The idea of "friendly fire" is also intriguing, as it suggests that sometimes, when we try to help others or fight against something, we end up causing more harm than good.

Overall, "Friendly Fire" is a haunting and thought-provoking song that deals with weighty themes such as powerlessness, self-destruction, and the unintended consequences of our actions. Its imagery is vivid and poetic, and the music - with its soaring harmonies and driving guitar riffs - adds to the sense of urgency and tension in the lyrics.

Line by Line Meaning

My kingdom for a cellar door.
I long for a way out of this oppressive situation.

The ship sank, too much liquid
The vessel was overloaded and subsequently capsized.

And too heavy guns behind them
Their weaponry was too cumbersome and ultimately hindered their progress.

Heavy drinkers
These individuals have a propensity for excessive alcohol consumption.

Heavy soils
The earth is hard and unfavorable for crop growth.

No place for trees like us.
This location is not hospitable for our species to grow or flourish.

They fought fire, with friendly fire.
Due to miscommunication, allies inadvertently attacked each other in a firefight.

We eluded capture by hiding
We were able to avoid being caught by concealing ourselves from view.

In the dark, in the dark
Our hiding place was obscure and lacking in light.

In a park
Our concealment spot was located in a public green space.

Near where we grew up
Our hiding location was in close proximity to our childhood home.