Released: August 27, 2013
tracklist:
01. All I Wanna Do Is Live
02. Walk A Wire
03. Fall With Me
04. Digital Dialogue
05. Fin Du Monde
06. She's Never Satisfied
07. Expressions
08. Fractured Love
09. Modern Behavior
10. Creation
Flaamingos
S/T | FLT-011
Pounding analog drum machines. Rumbling basslines that are as moody as they are thoroughly danceable. Atmospheric washes of echo-laden synth textures. Jangling guitar sounds. And choruses that resonate with emotion. Listening to Flaamingos' self-titled debut album, you'd be forgiven for thinking that it might come from the north of England, or somewhere else where the skies are consistently leaden and everybody always wears black.
In fact, it's the work of a bunch of (black-clad) Angelenos. Flaamingos’ music drags the classic sounds of their favorite bands into the 21st century, in the process creating a sound that's entirely their own. The band was formed by Jerry Narrows (vocals, drum programming) and Daniel Koontz (guitar, bass, synth) — the two played together in psych and shoegaze bands as youngsters, before going their separate ways and working in other musical projects for a time.
They bumped into one another at an Echo Park party spot in 2011, and decided to collaborate again — this time, however, their work involved crafting a new sound that would include traces of their past psych/shoegaze inclinations, but also drew on newer-found love for krautrock, post-punk, synth pop and new romantic shimmer. As Narrows told LA's TPR Mag, "We have both post-punk and psychedelic sensibilities. I’d say we’re heavily influenced by the poppier side of both 'genres.' Of course we have our influences but in the end we’re not really going for such a specific target with our sound — we're trying to create something greater than the sum of its parts."
The self-titled debut album runs a gamut from dancefloor-friendly synthpop ("Digital Dialogue") through brooding post-punk ("All I Want to Do Is Live") to dark, rhythmic atmospherics ("Fractured Love"). As a whole, Flaamingos are the sound of a band who have relentlessly honed their aesthetic.
This is certainly a description that fits the band's self-titled debut album. Its music runs a gamut from dancefloor-friendly synthpop ("Digital Dialogue") through brooding post-punk ("All I Want to Do Is Live") to dark, rhythmic atmospherics ("Fractured Love"). As a whole, the sound of a band who have relentlessly honed their aesthetic — often at the iconic Part Time Punks night at The Echo, a de facto home to LA's post-punk scene and a second home to Flaamingos. Now they're ready to take that vision to the world.