Pete WiseThose of you with your fingers on the pulse as far as alternative rock music in this part of the world is concerned will be well aware that individually, a new release from skew-wiff art-rockers Flails, or a new release from fearsome post-hardcore brutes Slow Season would represent ample cause for celebration. It would be great, more than we deserve really, and a reason to feel as smug as can be about the music scene we’ve fostered as a community. Well, we’re pretty blessed to be honest, as both acts are bringing out new efforts – an EP from Slow Season and an album from Flails – this very Summer. They’re doing so through local DIY label Well Weapon Records (read more about them at here) in what represents a major undertaking on the part of the increasingly well-loved and invariably overworked record company.
Slow Season’s eponymous debut EP is a visceral affair, combining the heartbroken and the hearty to stirring effect, with barked lyrics, At The Drive-In style instrumental gymnastics, wistful melodies and some proudly pop-punk vocal interplay. At four tracks long it is truly a whirlwind, and a powerful and angst-ridden one at that. Flails’ debut album Relics meanwhile is pretty much a whole weather-system, spanning the whole mercurial gamut of a trio of particularly vivid imaginations. A variety of eclectic influences are at play throughout from Cursive to Led Zep, Grammatics to Blur, via sprinklings of dance music, reggae and metal. Rest assured you have to hear it.
The Slow Season EP is out this very moment – you can listen to it and purchase it in both digital and physical manifestations here.
Relics by Flails is slated for release on August 8th. You can hear a teaser here.
Underground music in York keeps coming up trumps at the moment it would appear. As bands like Flails and Slow Season go from strength to strength, people like those involved with Well Weapon keep giving them the infrastructure they so vitally need to progress. Its a relationship that seems to be paying dividends. Next stop for the prodigious record label is a split EP with some likeminded sorts from other towns. More on that another day…
