Classic, comforting, artsy
With the weather finally warming up, it’s the perfect time to listen to DC-based indie band Flasher’s new EP, In My Myth. The four tracks are lush with soft, overlapping melodies, arthouse vocals and playful instrumental flairs, giving listeners a sound that’s classic but never boring.
In My Myth toys with a mix of feel-good nostalgia and minor-key melancholy. The EP feels like late evenings, the sky after a storm – which, in a way, it is. This release comes only a year after 2022’s Love is Yours, the band’s second album. While stylistically similar, the 2022 release feels notably tenser than In My Myth, reflecting a tumultuous writing process. According to Rolling Stone interview with guitarist and backup singer Taylor Mulitz, producing their early albums was “kind of traumatic” for the band. Flasher’s latest release, plus life experience and minus bassist and founding member Daniel Saperstein, has mellowed out with softer instrumentals and a palpable feeling of settling.
Apparent from the first song, “Eastern Ave”, the EP is – to put it simply – very nice to listen to. The music is classically DC indie, with an artsy, small-venue feeling. While slightly less bass-heavy than past releases, Flasher’s instrumentation is strong across the board, with scratchy, lo-fi production giving the music an almost teen-movie feeling. Meandering melody lines and frequent sound effects give the impression that Flasher is exploring their sound, displaying obvious talent without taking themselves too seriously. This musical style stays fairly consistent throughout the EP, slowing slightly for the dreamy “Adriene”, and stripping down for the bass-driven, confessional “Hands On.”
The vocals were a high point of In My Myth, short lines of imagery emphasized by singer Emma Baker’s slight over-annunciation of the lyrics. The harmonies between Baker and Mulitz blend beautifully during the choruses, floating the listener through sometimes overly simplistic lyrics that could otherwise feel less like poetry and more like a motivational poster. While the EP is full of beautiful lines, it’s a little hard to repeat “the motive is movement, push through it, improvement” three times in a row without the words losing their edge. Luckily for Flasher, there’s plenty to distract from this less-powerful lyricism.
Gently confessional, full of delicate, disjointed accounts of heartbreak and self-reflection, it’s easy to imagine driving at sunset to “Eastern Ave”, standing outside the window of a party to “Adriene”, or swaying in the back of a tiny club to “Hands On.” Anyone who enjoys the nostalgic feeling of classic indie is sure to find something for them in Flasher’s In My Myth, a release that shakes off past strife and promises good things to come.
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