aaamusic | On 08, Oct 2011

It’s a loaded name, Flashguns. One would be forgiven for thinking that they were dealing with some long forgotten 80’s hair metal band, ill fitting spandex and hairspray up the proverbial arse with nary a hint of irony, subtlety or quality to be found in its immediate vicinity. In any case, it brings to mind a band with intent to excite the listener by being as loud, colourful and brash as possible. And to be honest, that couldn’t be further from the truth with this album. It excites the listener by sneaking up on them under cover of soulful atmospherics before unleashing bodacious rock righteousness on them when they least expect it, and let me tell you, dear reader, it’s a trick that works unbelievably well, leading to a quite simply extraordinary debut album.

 

So it’s strange to kick such a unique record off with a track with such standard reference points, Sounds of The Forest kicks things off like Biffy Clyro covering Eddie Cochrane, a full bore, full steam ahead rocker that would take pride of place on any self respecting rock bands debut album, but when confronted with the eclectic nature of the rest of the album it seems slightly tired.  For example, the following track, lead single and title track manages to be just as enthralling with little more than frantically strummed acoustic guitars and singer Sam Felix Johnston’s enormous, shout along hooks, coming along like The Smiths’ William It Was Really Nothing but without the insufferable lead singer ruining it for everyone (bite me fanboys!).

 

What marks this out as a great debut record beyond the astonishing song writing quality is how united the record feels, every track has a distinctive, unifying sound, that never becomes tiresome as the album goes on, granted Johnston’s voice is an acquired taste but it compliments the arrangements perfectly. Take album mid point Good Breeding, its shuffling drum pattern and synth line mark it out as something unique within the context of the album but its enormous chorus and stabs of guitar in the verse helps it make utter sense within the album as well, and that’s not even taking into account closing number Racing Race, coming on like a particularly low key hidden track on Brand New’s The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me covered by Ryan Adams, it’s a devastatingly intimate track, nearly done solo by Johnston, and is a startling left turn from the generally upbeat nature of the album as a whole but it never feels like it shouldn’t be there.

 

So in all, a fantastic debut, great songs, awe inspiring musicianship and a genuinely unique overall sound that could see this London trio go very far indeed.

 

Author: Will Howard