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Review: 'Flatmates, The'
'The Flatmates'   

-  Label: 'Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records/Subway organiza'
-  Genre: 'Indie' -  Release Date: 'spring 2020'-  Catalogue No: 'HHBTM204'

Our Rating:
Yes C86 legends The Flatmates have finally got round to putting out an album having only really been a singles band for the last 34 years. Yes they may be cooped up in a flat in Bristol driving each other to distraction but they have managed to put out a great album of jangly indie pop.

The album leaps out of the speakers with the opening Ramones style blasts of Shut Up And Kiss Me that's an anthemic blast of lust driven indie pop with a punk edge that will have most of you singing along to the chorus about halfway through your first listen it's that catchy and really should be a hit.

You Held My Heart is a raucous romp of a song as Lisa Bouvier lets us know just what her paramour did to hold her heart it's delicious and you want her to hold your heart too.

She's So Bad for you is the sort of advice you get either from someone who wants to take your place or wants to save you from yourself, you'll have to listen to it to figure out which one it will be and this is for that point at the indie disco when they slow things down a bit but not too much some great jangling guitars and organ.

If You love Me Let Me Know to which the answer may come back if you've got to ask then that's an answer in itself but hell it would be nice to have someone sent this to you on a mixtape or these days a playlist by way of asking.

Falling Out Of Love is a cool jangly break up song as she's fallen out of love with you, maybe because you didn't let her know you loved her?

Do The Angels Care? Well that's a pertinent question for 2020 if ever there was one and well at the moment the jury is out on that but they have given this tune a massive thumbs up for its buzz saw guitars jangling away and cool vocals to help make us all smile while we wait for the angels to rescue us all with some super cosmic customer service.

The Last Guitar In Town is probably now silent as we can't go out anymore but this is a great blast at the sort of people tell you guitars are over etc and has some really cool speedy guitars all over it.

This Is Reality starts like a long lost Stooges outtake and then gets properly jangly as reality calls and well in the current times I'm not sure how much reality most of us want still we can all song along to the chorus and hope for a better reality to come.

Can't Get You Out Of My Heart is a great indie punk pop song that reminds me a lot of The Buzzcocks being fronted by someone like Tracey Thorne in an upbeat moment.

Something In My Eye is frantic paced jangly nirvana of a song and no you didn't make her cry before she broke up with you so ner ner ner ner she's still better than you.

The Night We Murdered Love is a great kitchen sink drama set to well of course jangly indie pop that doesn't sound like a real ding dong more a realisation you really were in lust not love and it's time to move on.

Punk Moth is another Ramones style re-working that comes close to some of the songs Vice Squad have written in recent years about Punk and its commodification and yes this references a few classic punk tunes as it should do.

The album closes with Why Can't It Be Love that sounds like Helen Love only of course Helen Love really sounds more like The Flatmates and round and round we go, but this has some great sax stabs in it to emphasise the lyrics and the most upfront strings on the album a great way to close a great "debut album". Now to wait until 2054 for the second album.

Find out more at https://www.hhbtm.com/product/flatmates/ www.facebook.com/TheFlatmatesOfficial

  author: simonovitch

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