Produced by Flaming Lip Michael Ivins, In the Name of the World is tightly wound, emotive, and succinct in its commercial aspirations without sacrificing any of the Detroit collective's signature volatility.
Ivins, a bass player by trade, has fortified the songs' foundations in a way that allows each track to succeed on both a musical and muscular level, allowing standout cuts like "Bombs in the Distance" and "Raised on Planes" the room to pound away at the skull before engaging the brain.
Vocalist/guitarist Sean Hoen channels everyone from Jeremy Enigk to Robin Zander, giving a lyric like "Kiss me right here with your mouth/All sick from smoke and beer" a necessary dose of desperation and transcendence, the latter of which the Holy Fire seemed destined to achieve."
The band performed concerts with a number of indie acts, including: TV on the Radio, The Constantines, and Metric.
The Holy Fire included members of Leaving Rouge and the late hardcore band Thoughts of Ionesco.