Introducing… continuing our regular feature looking at some of the exciting acts around that you may not have heard of (yet). Our next instalment features Flipron.
Where are they from? Glastonbury, UK.
Who are they? Jesse Budd – Vocals, guitar, lap steel, accordion, harmonica, ukulele, mandolin, dobro & clarinet; Joe Atkinson – Organ, piano, some guitar, accordion, backing vocals; Mark – Bass guitar; Mike – Drums, percussion & backing vocals
What do they sound like? Eclectic doesn’t even come close to the mish-mash of styles that Flipron use. Described as music-hall punk, ska, new wave and psychedelic by other reviewers, there’s a bit of everything with Flipron. For us at Neonfiller.com the clearest influences musically are the Kinks, Pulp and The Auteurs. In terms of dress sense Pulp frontman’s Jarvis Cocker is an influence again. Live their performances hinge on the energy and whimsy of lead singer and multi-instrumentalist Jesse, who has helped them develop quite a live following over the years that has even led to some US dates this year (2010).
What have they got to say for themselves? “We love old records and new records. We love all sorts of music by all sorts of people. This gets all mixed up and rearranged inside our Flipron-shaped brains and comes out again into our own music.” In short, they like a lot of stuff.
What’s their latest? Gravity Calling (2008), which was produced by The Damned’s Rat Scabies, Biscuits For Cerberus (2006) Fancy Blues & Rustique Novelties (2004).
Where can I find out more? http://www.flipron.co.uk/
Related Posts
I bought all three of their albums thanks to your article. I like their first and third albums the most, However I’ve only listened to Biscuits For Cerberus once so far so I can’t give a solid opinion of it yet. Here are some reviews and opinions of the debut and third albums:
Fancy Blues and Rustique Novelties: Dark, Cabaret, Dark Psychadelia (Which is a term I’ve never heard used) Strong (And usually dark) lyrics, A pinch of slide guitar and some guitar parts (Particularly in track 6, “Hungamunga”) That make me say “Wow, I’m surprised that works so well”
Gravity Calling: Colorful and tropical are words that first come to mind. There are a lot of different types of songs on this album, Gravity Calling is like Rock and Dreams Of Wealth And Power is kinda Psychadelic. The end track “Something Lost” Is reminiscent of the first album lyrically, There’s some great piano playing in it and then its chilling towards the end!
I’ll talk about Biscuits later, After I’ve listened to it more.
After almost seven months I am now leaving another comment to tell what I now think of the albums.
Fancy Blues And Rustique Novelties: Imagine strolling through a dark, haunted carnival in England late at night. Maybe this isn’t the best description but for anyone who wants to buy a Flipron album this is the one I recommend.
Biscuits For Cerberus: Not as musical as the first one, Its more of a make you think album with its lyrical content. Still very enjoyable and you can’t get “The Man Who Was Eaten By A Pie” Through any other albums.
Gravity Calling: This is where I think Flipron went with a more pop style approach. Its much more colorful than the first two albums – The first two were “At night” Albums and this one is sometimes in the daytime – But it still has the genuine Flipron sound, Kicking off with “Mavis”. “Buy me one last drink before they throw me on the fire. I’m miserable, malodorous, A bigot and a liar”. Very enjoyable but I don’t think its quite as memorable as the first two albums.
Its much later now and Flipron are working on a new album. Also, I now know what the definition of “Mainstream Music” Is. I can now say all of Flipron’s albums seem to me like they’re very personal to the band. Gravity Calling does have the poppiest tune though which is Book Of Lies. I kinda wish “The Man Who Was Eaten By A Pie” Was released as a single.