Mar 2021
Flyying Colours – ‘Fantasy Country’ review: shoegaze’s heightened reality meets intense inner monologues
The Melbourne band’s first album in five years finds clarity and meaning amid saturated dream-pop vistas
Australian four-piece Flyying Colours are set to release their sophomore album ‘Fantasy Country’ on the 19th February via London-based independent label, Club AC30. Taking inspiration from the early 90s UK psych/shoegaze scene, ‘Fantasy Country’ is rich in sonic texture and shimmering atmospherics with a heavy dose of melody.
Formed in 2011 by school friends Brodie J Brümmer and Gemma O'Connor, Flyying Colours released their debut single ‘Wavygravy’ in 2013 with a self-titled EP following later that year. Honing their explosive sound on the Melbourne live scene and picking up numerous accolades along the way, the ‘ROYGBIV’ EP followed which received heavy rotation across worldwide radio including BBC Radio 6 Music and KEXP.
Having released their critically acclaimed debut album ‘Mindfullness’ in 2016, Flyying Colours have spent much of their time on the road with headline shows across the UK and Europe. “While it’s been a long time seemingly between records it doesn’t feel like that so much for us. We have previously been able to throw ourselves into recording over a period of time, however with this record was about creating that time in between touring and life. We are real people who work to pay our rent and to be able to go on tour,” says Brümmer.
From the swooning, sludgy ‘Goodtimes’ and urgent noise-fest of ‘Big Mess’, to the gorgeous melodic pop of ‘OK’, Flyying Colours look to redefine noise within the context of pop music. Elsewhere, ‘It’s Real’ is perfect, summery dreampop while the crushingly loud ‘White Knuckles’ and chugging ‘Boarding Pass’ is a hazy, echo-laden spaced-out affair.
“This album was supposed to now be 6-12 months old. We take touring and supporting our music live pretty seriously so it would have been very difficult for us to put out this album during the early stages of the pandemic. We are very lucky to be in Australia right now where shows are starting up again, and we of course hope to be touring internationally again soon,” says Brümmer.
Flyying Colours have toured with Johnny Marr, Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Jesus & Mary Chain, The Black Angels and A Place to Bury Strangers and are set to return to the UK in 2021 with a 7-date April tour.
Flyying Colours is Brodie J Brümmer, Gemma O'Connor, Melanie Barbaro and Andy Lloyd-Russell.
Apr 2021
