Proving that rock music can be more than just the flexing of musical muscle, more than pace and power, volume and velocity, “Flies” is a masterclass in the use of dynamics to build a song that has a fascinating sonic shape. Initially, rising from understated, sonic strands, they slowly weave together before …boom… they suckerpunch us, delivering a sound that feels as if we have been run over by an eighteen-wheeler delivering the gear to the biggest alt-rock music festival of the year.
And, having set both ends of the sonic spectrum, they then ebb and flow between the two – from lull to loud, from quiet to crescendo, from understatement to full throttle. Cool! Very cool.
But there is more going on than just a band showing off their considerable songwriting chops. There is the sleeve art, which is in itself a visual pun…flies…geddit? And there’s a video that seems to be based on what it is like to take ketamine… not that I would know anything about that.
When you dig into the lyrics, you find that the song is actually about local band politics, the titular buzzies being a metaphor for the way other bands, those coming up behind you, those who see you as competition, the jealous and the jaded, feed off you and try to take a piece of you, forgetting that music is not a competitive sport!
But it is also a message of hope, one that says, stay the course, man, that’s just the way things are, stay true to yourself and don’t let the bastards grind you down…or in this case suck you dry. Stick to your guns, you’ll make it…and remember, flies might be annoying, but they are easily swatted away, and in the scheme of things, they are extremely short lived.
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