If you are wondering what to expect from ‘Same Time Next Year’, The Open Flames provides a revealing hint: “This album is about growing into a band together”. Isn’t that what being a group, a collective means? A long time in the making, the project’s debut album sees the talented musicians and creatives behind the British band finally reunite and record new material, following up from their beginning many moons ago, during high school.
Taking hints and cues from a variety of sources, ‘Same Time Next Year’ doesn’t champion any hard artistic limits. Rather, it serves slices of guitar-powered eclecticism drenched in ethereal distortions and soft-rock melodies. Take for instance ‘Falling Up’: the contrast between the mellow vocals and the gritty guitars is ever-striking, pretty far away from the post-punk extravaganza of ‘UK Trains’. Elsewhere, ‘Not Never’ takes a step back into darker, intimate territories.
Speaking about the group, drummer Evan Sult explains: “It started as a friendship being rekindled. Since our lives diverged in high school, David has been living literally all over the world, experiencing some seriously unreal conditions in developing countries and rich countries alike. I’ve been on major labels, indie labels, and generally leading a rock and art life all around the US with Paige. But he’s the guy who got me playing music in the first place.” David Eastman, Paige Brubeck and Len Bendel complete the lineup.
Recommended! Discover ‘Same Time Next Year’ on Bandcamp:
