Black Flamingo - Luau in the Graveyard
Black Flamingo is a band composed of three friends from Los Angeles, California. Despite being absent from the underground scene for almost a decade, their work has stood the test of time due to its masterful production and impressive performances.
Powerful female lead vocals set the stage right on Black Heart, a track that sounds like a cross between the humble ballads of Coldplay ballad and the confessional hymn-manifestos of Nico. The mixing of Alex Possell is key to accentuating Black Famingo’s powerful lead voice, adding plenty of flair to the recording via grandiose strings and enhancing the song’s powerful outro. Much could be said about the simple, yet catchy Proud Head, which balances its hazy summer vibe with melancholia as blissfully as a dessert that matches vanilla with chocolate. The lower tone of the vocalist, a la Lana Del Ray, is the perfect complement to the hazy guitars and light tambourines. Haunted House is yet another standout, which despite sounding less noisy than its peers, executes the tension-release dynamic so masterfully, it makes me sad the band opted for poppier songs through most of the tracklisting instead.
These pop songs truly ruin the experience. Sunny Boy is very difficult to recommend; it’s clearly placed on the tracklisting to appeal to a wider audience, though it fails to accentuate the strengths of the vocalist and expressive instrumentation. I’m unsure what Black Famingo were thinking when they included a poppy summer jam on a dark goth surf rock album, but despite how cool it could have been, it falls flat in execution. Golden Girl makes the same mistake, though thankfully it balances it out with some noteworthy jams. Any time the band decides to drop the chorus-rock structure, it’s very impressive. These moments are far in between, though, and are marred by boring and uninspired rock-opera theatrics.
Luau in the Graveyard is an album that scores well in the underground scene not for its innovation, but its undeninably grand impression. The band could be considered an anti-singles band, as their pop songs severely drag the overall experience down. Regardless, it’s no wonder the album has managed to resurface a decade later, as it still sounds as powerful as it did on release. It’s a shame the band disbanded not too long after their major release, since they had all the elements needed to strive in the current market. Here’s hoping they return one day with some more experimental songs to suit their unbelievably striking aesthetic.
Above Average
Listen to it here:
https://blackflamingo.bandcamp.com/album/luau-in-the-graveyard
Black Flamingo - Luau in the Graveyard
