album of the week: 1.4

Wild Flag

(2011)

why you'll love it: stripped down indie punk by a vet supergroup

why you'll hate it: simple lyrics, does not live up to the reputation, sometimes lacks punch.

Out of all the 2011 leftovers covered this month, I think this is my favorite. Wild Flag's self -titled debut found its way into a lot of top 50 lists by popular music outlets. I'm still trying to figure out if that is based on its merits alone, or the fact that this is an indie rock supergroup playing music that almost all music nerds love.

Carrie Brownstein (formerly of Sleater-Kinney) has been all over the place lately, but this seems to be her home base; sharing vocal duties with Mary Timony (formerly of Helium). I should also mention Janet Weiss on drums, since her previous work with The Jicks is the only one those bands I regularly listen to. Wild Flag is a post-punk band with a lot of promising influences. A lot of this music could easily be mistaken for something from 20-30 years ago. They know how to play with structures enough to make every song sound unique; but never experimental wankery. Catchy rock is still rule no 1 here.

I think what I love about this band is exactly what everyone else loves. There needs to be a lot more of THIS KIND of music. Straightforward and just for fun basement show garage rock. I'm just not so crazy about the execution here. Firstly, the lyrics are a bit too cliche. Normally I'd ignore this on a debut, but for a band with this much reputation behind it; but I'd expect more than the 1,2,3,4 rhyming chorus of "Boom". The vocal presentation also maybe has too much sass too it, like in "Endless Talk". I usually enjoy a bit of cockiness in rock music, but in this case the music doesn't quite live up to the bark.

Aside from this little "They don't rock as much as I think they think they do." hangup, it is a fun album; with a few tracks that absolutely nail it. I love the opener, "Romance" (one of my favorite songs of the year), as well as "Short Version", and "Future Crimes". I've seen "Racehorse" performed live, and they put a lot more power into it, washing away that previously mentioned hangup I get with the album version.

Not a very solid debut, but god I want this band to be good. Not as much as others do, apparently (this isn't "best of 2011" material, guys, come on); but this is my kind of music, and it's nice not to have to go searching the globe for it for once. Can't wait to hear their next album, because I think by then, they will be more balanced and focused. But, until then, get in on the ground floor.