sandwich boy

naively channelling DIY review through the fingers of a nervous queer boy

[sandwichboy]

Flashlight O “The Truman Sho”

Okay, okay. So this album has been out for a while. But i’ve been listening to it a hell of a lot lately and I wanted to review it, so lay off. I was first introduced to Colin Alexander’s bedroom project Flashlight O a few years ago, through the postings of my friend Dean, who does a project called Quarterbacks. Many times he has posted about an interesting artist that has gone on to be a fond find of mine, generally existing, even if only quietly, in a small corner of the internet, and a small corner of America. Artists like UNITY and Flower Housewife spring to mind, nuggets that can only usually be discovered via the philanthropy of music lovers, destined to spread good music like an infectious disease.

The call-back nature of this project is strong. What with titling, the whiry MIDI-esque synth sounds, the in-joking and knowingly goofy lyrics, the tape-recorded production and the sonic alludes to 80s/90s indie pop and indie rock. In fact, the tones of the vocals, by Colin, send ripples of bands like Beat Happening, Half-Japanese or The Fall.

The casual weirdness of this record is bound to the pop sensibilities, and the rhythmic warmness that ultimately rounds The Truman Sho. It isn’t a particularly long record, but there are a lot of different grounds covered. From the moody, but hypnotic intro of “Wooden Flooring”, the droney interlude of “Fuck World Peace”, the crunchy and grungy “Thanksgiving” and the downright (and beautifully) naff “Cool Groove”, sounding like burgeoning computer tech, like some Windows 95 software backing music, or the soundtrack to a ROM-DOS point and click. When it’s not doing those things, the tone of this tape is centred around a love of 90s indie rock and pop, with the stripped bare drums that sound sonically clean but suitably scrappy at the same time. This is garage band aesthetic, taken to a bedroom, fed via Packard Bell nostalgia.

That is by no accounts a bad thing, and Flashlight O has cohesively concocted a personal ode to his formative elements. It’s a true testament to the way in which a lot of music that takes nods toward musical generations of yesteryear can contrast with the years since and combine both into something with a fresh perspective. This all makes for a solid first album.

8.6/10

HIGHLIGHTS: Happy Baby Pose, Holding, Cool Groove

https://flashlighto.bandcamp.com/album/the-truman-sho

[sandwichboy]

“old people are people too” by hormones in abundance 

it is very easy to over anglicise the media the i consume. I mean, i guess that’s obvious. if you are in a place, it’s gonna feel pretty easy to consume music that is closer to home. I suppose HIA is close enough in the sense that the music is spoken in english, with english words. so I guess I shouldn’t give myself credit for liking ‘sweedish twee’ as it’s kinda just ‘twee that happens to come from sweeden’. 

but on the music itself, I quite like it. i mean it has that cutting pink with knives thing going on where it’s typically energetic and treble-based sounds over tinny and sparky electronic drums. if not that, it’s compressed and sharp sounds that are delivered fast with songs that are never longer than a minute and a half (in fact, the longest song on this ep racks in at 1.35).

hormones in abundance operates in very a scottish way, and the influence is clear. but obviously the locality of the project keeps the sound centred around a scandinavian electronic aesthetic. the two work quite well, hearty pop hooks fire in all directions with shards of pixelated audio.

I quite like how transferable the sounds seem; the method in which they are used (keyboard/electronic/effect based, largely) seem more of an adaption to availability, rather than a 100% aesthetic choice. the classic full-band indie pop backbone plays into this, with parts sounding like they could easily be replicated with a full line up if the means were there. but this i no way lessens the outcome, and in fact, gives it that freshness that may not necessarily be there if it was just ‘a band playing twee’.

the comparisons to video game music are obvious and very notable, but is clearly a factor in this person’s upbringing, and it’s freshly reflected in this. 

i liked it a lot, it’s rewardingly melodic with a pace that gets the point across without over-doing it and that is a welcome in a world where it’s very easy to over-dose on this kind of pop, given how hyperactive the hooks are.

PICKS: ‘fun in town’, ‘silent obligations’, ‘the leftout breakup breakdown’

[sandwichboy]

this is a photo I took of the band football, etc. - it was a show i hosted in a friend’s back garden (in withington, in manchester) on a sunday in the middle of the afternoon. it was probably the weirdest gig I’d ever put on, but also quite satisfying. I churlishly entitled it “sunny day matinee” - it was kinda sunny I guess. 

supporting them, I did a solo set of my project cop graveyard and I also had yr friends which is alexei berrow, guitarist/vocalist from UK DIY greats Johnny Foreigner. also playing were a scottish band called carson wells, who were on tour with FE at the time. 

football, etc. (from austin, texas, USA) are an interesting blend of indie rock and emo, to quite a plush conclusion, championing choral sing-a-longs and straight up and tight guitar rock. whatever that term actually means. given the weirdness of the event, I was real happy to have hosted it - I had always intended, but never really managed, to separate the gig setting from a bar setting, a problem most prevalent. I had this vision of a music event like this going beyond kids going into a dark, dingy club, paying an inflated (external costs considered) to watch some bands and paying dumb prices for expensive drinks in an anti-social social environment. it’s too conditioned. 

and though I haven’t been able to make that long term (as I have never had real access to a PA, or the funds to buy one), it was never really much of a reality. so, i’m glad I at least managed to do this.

[sandwichboy]

these are shots i took of lugubrious children playing in a basement (4th august 2015) in leeds (burley) a couple of months back. also on the bill were healing powers, cady, famine and gets worse. LC are henry, ben, josh and someone else i’m not entirely sure of/don’t know personally. they’re a powerviolence band based in leeds, featuring members of dog eggs and healing powers. tight, sharp and short hardcore. they’ve been kicking around for a year or so. when i lived in manchester around february sort of time, i had the pleasure of putting them on, along with pennycress, herbert powell and big machine at the crescent in salford, after only heard a 4-track bandcamp demo. also knowing josh from healing powers, having put them on several times, the band felt a natural extension. 

sitting in the pv-pool with other bands like torn apart (rip, also leeds based), goob have lots of great, surprising time signatures and odd pauses. they indulge in making songs that are short, detailed and direct, reinforced by josh’s high shrieks and ben’s tight drumming. man he’s such a good drummer.

no facebook // just bandcamp:

www.lugubriouschildren.bandcamp.com 

-

eliot x

[sandwichboy]

what is sandwich boy?

sandwich boy is an irregular but sometimes regular blog, talking about DIY music variants - 

gigs attended releases coming up features and ‘songs of the week’ or something run by a very unorganised, but mildly passionate music lover based in LEEDS UK. thanks for giving me a chance (i wouldn’t).

- eliot humphreys