Reviewed by Stephen Romone Lewis
Released: 1980 The Flames The Flames Genre: Low-fi Echo And The Bunnymen Rating: 3 out of 5 Highlights: Do You Love It Somebody Call Me Nothing seems to Work Out Do you love Echo and The Bunnymen? Would you love them if they were a low-fi band? Would you still love them if they were a low-fi band and about 23% less catchy? If you answered yes then this is the album for you. According to Bandcamp, The Flames formed, recorded and broke up in 1980. The “long lost The Flames album” finally came out in 2017. The album sounds like a collection of well recorded demos or a poorly recorded commercial release. The band sounds timid but plays well together. A year in the clubs would have polished them. Occasionally they feature a sweet pepper-jack organ with a dollop of feta, you know, cheesy, that Question Mark & The Mysterians sound. (Remember 96 Tears?) The song writing is good but not great. Punk News said, “This record blends jumpy power-pop with the snappiness of early new wave with the edgy lyrics of first wave punk.” They also praise Michael J. Richards’ lyrics. Lyrics rarely matter to me unless they make me laugh, so I won’t pass judgment. “Do You Love It” was clearly intended as the single. I was singing along by the end, although I was making up the words. “Stabbed to Death" has a happy, bouncy riff similar to “Tequila” but it’s about someone being stabbed to death, I think. I almost put it on the highlights list but by my 2nd listen I didn’t want to hear it again. Overall The Flames is very listenable. A few songs and solos jump out. Had the band stuck together they could have gone on to something big.
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