WL//WH Track Of The Day FLYWHEEL
When I hear the mention of Cork regarding indie music, Sultans of Ping F.C. and The Frank and Walters immediately come to mind, whom I had the chance to see both live in London during, or pre, the ‘infamous’ Britpop era: the former at the ULU venue, the latter even with the beardless yet already transfixing Radiohead as backing.
Perhaps already active, fellow Irish Psychedelic Pop unit Flywheel released a full album in 1996 via an obscure Swedish label that went rather unnoticed, only to resume activity in 2020 with a series of singles and an EP, in addition to a lost full-length, made with untouched heart and passion, where shoegaze, psychedelia and post-punk vibes combine seamlessly.
Comprised of Ann Marie Ryan (vocals), Mark Tangney (guitar), Kieran Curtin (guitar), Paul Kelleher (bass) and Mick O’Donovan (drums), Flywheel‘s latest single, “I want to join The Fall,” delves into the band’s long-standing fascination with Mark E. Smith‘s lasting legacy, examining the contradictions that exist between an artist and their work through a lens of ‘loving the music while acknowledging the flaws of the person who made it.’
Music-wise, on the other hand, the track explores immersive kraut-propulsive, shoegaze-laden, entrancing psychedelic realms, with gloomy post-punk undertones.
Steadfast, hypnotic motorik drum beats, along with moody, circular humming bass murmurings, fuel droning sustained distortion, laced with abrasive, fuzzy swelling tones and uncanny weeping synth layers, on which glide wistful, anxious, ethereal, turning ghost-like, female vocals, balancing repetition, tension, and release with a relentless and restrained dark, driving pulse.
Keep up with Flywheel:
