Rumours of the exellence of this Brooklyn, NYC quartet have been filtering through to us with unnerving regularity for some time now, and it turns out our friends on the spot were absolutely bang on as THE FLESH are a fine, dramatic outfit who write songs full of dark, melodic instinct and with sonic twists aplenty.
"Death Connection" is a cracking calling card. The creepy, stop-start rhythms of the title track immerse us in their world and it's a spooked, claustrophobic place. Frontman Nathan Halpern drips with presence in the Nick Cave/ Stewart Lupton mode, with rugged, switchblade looks and a voice to match. Drummer Greg Rogove uses timpani accents and Halpern's guitar picks out spare, itchy figures which only add to the tension. Terrific start.
And it's compounded by the three tracks following in its' wake. "Love" is frantic and full-throttle, driven by lurching rhythms, Gabriella Zappia's trebly, Blue Orchids-style organ and Halpern's drawled vox. A day-glo explosion of a track, it's very, very impressive indeed. "Foes," by comparison, ups the burlesque ante, with Halpern and Zappia firing lines back at each other and the rhythm section holding the slow melodrama together with atmosphere to spare.
Closing track, "Copticon," though, is the epic. Zappia's fairground organ again dominates, though the menacing chugging rhythm initially recalls early 80's UK post-punk heroes The Sound. Lengthy and involved, it features superb, evocative musicianship from all concerned and finds Halpern divulging all sorts of guilty secrets. Wracked and possessed, he reams off lines like: "Fuck, fuck and suck....in a dream, a dream!" like he's calling in from the strangest of forbidden Astral Planes. Excellent.
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With cool, sympathetic production from The Fever's Sanchez Esquire and (bizarrely) engineering/ recording skills from Madonna/ Mary.J.Blige deskman Chris Ribando fighting their corner, "Death Connection" is a mighty debut from instantly distinctive band who - along with a further clutch of other fabulous young blades like Provan, Oxford Collapse and Ambulance Ltd - once again make you wonder why the media waste so much space on The Strokes when New York remains absolutely teeming with killer diversity. Get this and you'll understand straight away.
(www.putontheflesh.com)
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