The Fleshies
Introducing the Fleshies
photo: sorrystaterecords.com
The Fleshies conjure up distinct memories in my brain. No, not of circle pits and skateboarding empty pools. The Fleshies remind me of the Pennsylvania country side. It’s in my long drives where I would most often consume albums in their entirety without interruptions. I knew I had always enjoyed the Fleshies (or just “Fleshies” as they used to be called), but on a 2 hour drive through the aforementioned Pennsylvania countryside I decided to rock out to Brown Flag: an album I had been playing at work while being half-distracted most of the time. It’s then that it hit me: Whoa, this is good. This is REAL good!
But then the Fleshies disappeared for a good long while and they sort of fell off my radar. Introducing the Fleshies is their first album in ten years (has it been that long?!) and it’s like being reacquainted with a long lost love. The Fleshies play a particular brand of loud, snotty, fast, romantic, and goofy kind of punk rock. It’s really hard to pin this band down, but it might be safe to label them as being ADD. Not unfocused (because their albums go straight for the jugular), but just all over the place. Introducing the Fleshies reminds me why bands like this are needed now more than ever. It’s clear from the first song Bruisee that there has been no desire to diverge from the previous formula and it’s no nonsense for the next 20 minutes. And of course, they wouldn’t be the Fleshies without the vocal stylings of Johnny No Moniker which is snotty, distorted, loud, and at the same time buried deep in the mix. Introducing the Fleshies sounds raw and unpolished and is the perfect sound for a record like this.
Having jumped around a couple labels throughout their career, from Alternative Tentacles to Recess Records, it’s Dirt Cult in Portland who gets to put out this urgent piece of punk rock. It comes in traditional black and blue vinyl (both of which are still available) in a simple packaging which houses this beast of a record. It’s the preferred format for an album like this, of course, but really this just needs to be heard any way possible.
The Fleshies have returned with an impressive album, easily placing it as one of the top 10 best records of the year.
Get it from Dirt Cult.
