Flaming Home - goodbye, my love!
Flaming Home, early side project of Mikel’s The Lanterns, is an archive of the "Flaming Home" material recorded 2016-2018. The emotion and delivery that makes The Lanterns so special can easily be observed within these earlier recordings, though the song writing isn’t as strong.
First and foremost, this is not your house is the true surprise of goodbye, my love!, and the following criticisms don’t apply to it. The vocals, bells and gorgeous acoustics all come together majestically. One of Mikel’s best. Throughout the remaining album, the synthetics and sample use add a lot to the atmosphere throughout tracks such as Angels and goodbye, farewell!, though sadly, they feel like an afterthought. The songs themselves are not strong enough to stand on their own. Moreover, the song-writing is far too straightforward throughout the album. Field recordings and sample use go a long way to add personality, and are easily the highlights of the album, though the simple linear and repetitive chord structures get old fast. The exception is the closer, which succeeds mostly for it feels more sincere than preceding tracks. Mikel’s cries of suicide are enhanced by his fragmented delivery and iridescent soundscape.
Goodbye, my love! Could have been one of Mikel’s strongest works had he developed it further. There are moments of brilliance, though an unwarranted amount of fluff in between. An artist that makes such a large catalogue of songs such as himself should be careful how much he releases; one large compilation is easier to recommend than smaller scattered EP/LP’s. Regardless, if you’re a fan like me, you’ll find some delightful stuff on here.
Above Average
Listen to it here:
Flaming Home - goodbye, my love!
