The Flashpot Moments The Flashpot Moments Review by Gary Hill
This set is quite strong. These guys land in the territory of alternative rock, but there is a lot of pop here. Nothing here is Earth-shattering in terms of originality, but it's just some darned good music. If there is a complaint here, it's that there is a bit of a monolithic texture at times, but honestly, just moving a few songs around a bit would have really fixed that. All in all, if you like alternative rock with a lot of pop and some emo and classic rock in the mix, this is for you.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2017 Volume 2 at lulu.com/strangesound.
Track by Track Review
Places Unknown
I really dig this alternative rocker. It has some definite pop music sensibilities. It's hard rocking and catchy. It's also quite meaty.
Strangers Dance This rocker isn't a big change. Instead, it's another tasty slab of pop oriented alternative rock. I really like the catchy instrumental hook on this.
On Some Awful Night A bit more pop oriented and rather playful, there is definitely an emo vibe to this. It's a lot of fun.
'Splode (The Party Prelude) A hard rocker that's energized and classy, this one is fun and rather funny.
Abigail, Mispronounced (The Party Aftermath) The crunch on the guitar here is great. I like the hooks, too. This is actually one of the best songs of the whole set. It also does reveal the aftermath of the party, and it's not a pretty picture.
The Learning Curve Classic hard rock and emo merge in this classy pop rocker. This has some of the coolest guitar work of the whole set, and yet the vocal hooks stand almost on an equal plain to that. This is one of the best tracks of the whole album. It even moves to some almost psychedelic rock stuff later in the tune.
Hands Up! The screaming hot guitar on this is so classy. The riffing is great, too. Yet they bring a catchy hook in for the chorus. This is great stuff for sure.
Satisfaction Isn't Not a big change, this is another alternative rocker. It's a good tune, but a bit of a let down after the last couple tunes.
Can't Wait To Find Out Here's some variety. This is more of a power ballad. It has a real classic rocking sound. This is a strong tune, too.
Stories We've Told This is another that leans toward classic balladic rock. That makes it variety. It's also a strong tune. The thing is, I think since this one is closer to the last track, it might have been better utilized earlier in the set to break up some of the material that was a little more rocking. All of that said, this is catchy and classy and one of the better tunes here.
The Last Stand Perhaps the most "different" tune here, this has a very dynamic and diverse song structure. It's catchy and quite strong. It's very much a classic rocking type of tune. It's not quite a ballad, but it's a melodic rocker for sure. It really does make a great closer because it's such good stuff.
