Flashguns - Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, 28/9/2009
by Sarah Mwangi
published: 24 / 9 / 2009
intro
At the Nottingham Rescue Rooms, Sarah Mwangi finds energetic teenage indie rock band Flashguns more mature than their youth would suggest, but their ideas coming out too thick and fast sometimes for the good of their music
Firstly, at the age of 22, I don’t think I’m old, but damn, I sure felt it tonight. I felt it with the people around me, with the people at the bar and certainly with those before me. Secondly, as a principle, I generally don’t listen to bands that are younger than me. It’s a rule based simply on my reluctance to be the oldest person in a room and besides what we could possibly have in common. Thirdly, it is a diminishing rule, as it’s getting harder to abide to; unless I want to carry my iPod to my deathbed. So, with the Flashguns in front of me, I tried to get past the age gap, (seriously, they must have been like 16 years old*) which was surprisingly easy to do as they displayed a sound far mature than their fresh-faces suggested. Spry melodies, swirling walls of sound, and ideas aplenty were all present. Well, maybe all too present. They’re a talented bunch of kids no doubt, but it just wasn’t coming together as it should. For the first trio of songs I basked in the glow of finding a band worth noting, but flaws started to appear in the subsequent tracks. With song after song, ideas were coming out thick and fast as they switched from melody to melody far too often in each song and created a wall of sound that accumulated from noisy crashing cymbals and shredding guitar work. Their flaws, however, aren’t detrimental to their future, as they do have youth on their side. They have the time to concentrate on these songs more tenderly. To refine them in order for them to become cohesive products of their undoubtedly inspired minds. Admittedly, it is exciting when you find a band at the grasp of something special so early in their career. And amidst the undecipherable vocals, the melodic slurs of ‘I Don’t Not Love You’ and ‘St George’, which were accompanied by energetic stop-start guitar riffs and building drum rolls, illuminated Flashguns’ potential. They do, however, need to try harder next time around so as not to be overshadowed as they were by a choir of drunken freshers, who were doing their best to ruin, even massacre Radiohead’s ‘In Rainbows’ which played as the venue’s intermission filler (although in the freshers’ defence, they did know the songs virtually word for word). *they are all going to uni or at least dropping out soon, so in fact they must be around 19.
Picture Gallery:-
most viewed articles
current edition
Beat Featuring Ranking Jnr - Sala Jerusalem, Valencia, 18/2/2024X Ray Spex - Interview
London Afrobeat Collective - 16 Toneladas, Valencia, 21/2/2024
Dead Poet Society - Photoscapes
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Photoscapes
Happy Mondays - Photoscapes
Paloma Faith - Photoscapes 2
Stiff Little Fingers - Photoscapes
Paloma Faith - Photoscapes 1
Byrds - Every Album, Every Song
previous editions
Barrie Barlow - InterviewVolunteered - Interview
Kasai Allstars - Félicité
Chills - The Triumph and Tragedy of Martin Phillipps
Eluveitie - Photoscapes 2
Robbie Robertson - Interview
Miscellaneous - April 2020
Joy Division - The Image That Made Me Weep
Elli De Mon - Interview
Miscellaneous - Special Rider Blues
most viewed reviews
current edition
Black Crowes - Happiness BastardsKaiser Chiefs - Kaiser Chiefs' Easy Eighth Album
Texas and Spooner Oldham - The Muscle Shoals Sessions
Caity Baser - Still Learning
Beyonce - Cowboy Carter
Libertines - All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade
Sheryl Crow - Evolution
Vampire Weekend - Only God Was Above Us
Hillbilly Moon Explosion - Back in Time
Lewis 'Burner' Pugh - Bullets for Bread
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart