Flaural's "1616" video out Now

Article Contributed by Lucky Bird Media | Published on Thursday, March 28, 2019

It’s rare that a band founded on pushing sonic boundaries is conscious of not alienating the listener. In the case of Denver-based rockers, Flaural, their music feels like the spoils of deep exploration, brought back down to earth for all to observe in traditional rock outfit form.

Flaural / ˈflɒr(ə)l / is the unified sum of four equal parts. The hypnotic pulse of Nick Berlin’s kraut rock drum grooves crystalize as the backdrop atop which sprawls the band’s ethereal art-pop-songwriting. Connor Birch’s expansive synths and keys, the unique virtuosity and aggression of Noah Pfaff’s guitar playing, and the resonant croon of Colin Johnson’s vocals and driving bass lines all coalesce into experimental psych rock that warmly invites the uninitiated listener into the unknown.

Following a string of EPs — 2015’s Thin King and 2016’s Over Imaginary Cigarettes — Flaural’s debut LP, appropriately titled Postponement, has been three years in the making. Over those three years, the band experienced both communal growth and personal loss while playing shows across the United States. Early pieces of Postponement were initially recorded while touring through the Bay Area at the now defunct Animal Room Studio, but the album arrangements didn’t begin to take form until the band settled back in Denver and linked up with producer / engineer James Barone (Beach House, Tennis). Over the course of the next year and a half, the band found pockets of time to finish the recordings. Time becoming a central theme of the album as a whole.

On March 27th, 2017, frontman Collin Johnson’s father passed away after a long struggle with ALS. The album cover serves as an homage to his death — an image resembling a clock with hands that read 3:27 — and the album’s first single, “The Thinker,” tells the story of his illness. “The Thinker” was originally written following his father's diagnosis, with Johnson singing, “Nobody likes when you’re not well / Come up, come up, and feel better now.” The song's lyrics were reworked after he passed, adding the line, “Unanswered questions still haunt me.” The emotional track ends with a dark, hectic, instrumental frenzy of piercing baritone saxophone squeaks layered over sporadic, aggressive guitar and driving drums.

“‘The Thinker’ definitely set a tone for the album in the sense of hardship and having no way out but just dealing with the way things are,” Johnson recalls. “Trying times have no grace and that manifested as a recurring theme through the rest of album.”

Flaural On Tour

May 8 Wed

Rickshaw Stop

Cellar Doors

Weeed

San Francisco, CA, United States

Tickets RSVP

May 9 Thu

The Wayfarer

Blanco Niño

Cosmo Gold

Costa Mesa, CA, United States

Tickets RSVP

May 10 Fri

The Echo

Sugar Candy Mountain

The Mad Walls

Hooveriii

Los Angeles, CA, United States

Tickets RSVP

May 11 Sat

The Crepe Place

Santa Cruz, CA, United States

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May 13 Mon

Doug Fir Lounge

Candace

Sugar Candy Mountain

Portland, OR, United States

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May 15 Wed

Sunset Tavern

Candace

Seattle, WA, United States

Tickets RSVP

May 16 Thu

The Olympic Venue

Boise, ID, United States

Tickets RSVP

May 17 Fri

Kilby Court

Salt Lake City, UT, United States

Tickets RSVP

May 30 Thu

Bluebird Theater

Denver, CO, United States

Tickets RSVP

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