Explanation of ‘Both Sides of the Coin’ Reviews
Heads
The album’s disclaimer says it all: Flagland is a band that’s trying to figure themselves out, and they’re not afraid to flaunt their sometimes clumsy, sometimes self-demeaning, sometimes mopey selves in the process. In fact, these might be the very traits that help them put it all together, and there’s certainly enough evidence on their sophomore disc “Tireda Fightin” to make that case.
Originally released last May, “Tireda Fightin” was recently remastered and re-released on February 13, because, as their Bandcamp tells it, drummer “Nick [Dooley] didn’t really know how to master an album then.”
Since I haven’t heard the initial version of the album, I can’t comment as to the band’s success on the reboot, but the current version of “Tireda Fightin” is an enjoyable if not altogether surefooted album. It’s about on par with a typical Friday night in the lives of most twenty-somethings and probably the band’s as well – it’s sometimes funny, often frustrating and occasionally good enough to keep you in the moment.
The band definitely has an ear for different styles, even if they never quite coalesce. The title track – “Tireda Fightin” – plays like a downer version of a Thermals song, before jetting into a country-friend freakout with a Southwestern Meat Puppets flair. It’s one of the better songs on the album, even if it feels like finding out you have the wobbly table just when the conversation is getting going.
And the band does get going, mostly when the songs play to its strengths: bassist Dan Fracia’s walloping basslines and singer Kerry Kallberg’s surrealist and humorous lyrics about lethargy and angst in New York. These styles come together best on songs like “My Apartment,” a quasi-Misfits nightmare jam about finding bugs in your walls.
“Lightning Bolt” is closer to Flagland’s New York City roots. As a Strokes song, it’s better than anything the city’s flagship band has done in almost a decade. And while it’s one of the more serious songs on the album, the humor they coax out of the lyrics like “That girl’s a free spirit! That means she doesn’t give a fuck about anyone” is still surprising.
The breakdown rides an almost Cake-like monotone that builds to a revelation:
“People like that who everybody loves / People like that who you can’t believe exist / People like that who you never see ’em down / People like that tend not to stick around.”
Like the girl in the song, Flagland might not be the center of attention, but they’re great at capturing their surroundings. Here’s hoping they’ve got some fight left in them.
Tails
As the album title suggests, the band bows out early on their second album, all but putting down their gloves in a losing battle to creativity and originality.
Billing themselves as New York City’s “#1 Panic rock band,” Flagland are clearly a band that isn’t putting a lot of thought into their approach to their presentation. Musically, they’re one of those mid-grade anthemic rock bands that prove there’s no other one but Weezer when it comes to making silly-serious anthems.
While Kallberg does toss off some notable one liners, there are some mighty duds that aren’t even good enough for the cutting room floor. For example, “(In) Shards,” a song about alcohol abuse, contains the winning couplet “I’ve crawled through fields of broken glass / Had foreign objects up the ass.”
Even if this is a real occurrence, it’s not framed as ridiculous or sympathetic enough to make an impact on the listener. Or, if you’re enticed by that line, you can be the judge.
In “East/West,” the feud between the coasts, never more epic than in the Tupac/B.I.G. days, becomes a bore: “One’s a sort of surfer heaven, The other’s got 9/11.” It’s not exactly a line you’d think would be tailor-made for crowds. But then again, the band members who decided to give Kallberg license over the words to the music seem to think so.
While there are a couple songs on the album where they put it all together, it’s hard to imagine giving these songs a real listen if you were stuck in Brooklyn and needed a mediocre weekday show.
Even then, there’s probably better art on TV.
Choice Tracks: “Tireda Fightin,” “My Apartment,” and “Lightning Bolt.”
Verdict:
Heads. The choice tracks are worth multiple listens.
Pete Rizzo can be reached at prizzo@thoughtpollution.com.