Label Reviews/Media
Check this OCTOBER 11 2020 Review of Fleshen Fella here from Beat in my Bones :
Are you after some grimy and loud music? Do you fancy something that makes you feel like you’ll need a cold shower after listening or maybe have someone cleanse you? Fleshen Fella have released a record that will make you feel that way and more.
Made up of 4 friends, Fleshen Fella was born out of a bonding experience whilst working on a film. Something so relatively simple has turned out to be something really great. This may or may not be the only thing we get from the band, so it’s important to really treasure what they’ve given us. They’ve given us something that sounds like everything you could possibly want from a band who makes strong Garage Rock music to lose your shit to.
The 5 songs on this record are made to be played loud, and often. You cannot help but fall in love with this majestic record that is sleazy in all the right places. Desperation is my favourite on the record at the moment. I love the decadent sound and the powerful vocals. Knowing that this band was made up as a way to get them to bond more and get to know each other, the sound is super tight and you wouldn’t be alone in thinking this is a band who have been buddies for years and years, and that this isn’t their first record. It’s a really sleazy record and one you can imagine being blasted at sordid parties or basement bars.
If I’ve read correctly, the band have only played live together once and to then make this record. It would honestly be a shame if they never made another record or 5; they’ve got such a wild sound. That lo-fi and DIY feel they have (really shines on Psyche) is so delicious and you just want to keep on consuming it. It’s a record to definitely indulge in with zero apologies. We may never get anything else from Fleshen Fella but what they’ve given us is nothing short of a work of art to treasure.
The last song on the record, Untitled is NOTHING like the other 4 songs. This one is a straight up 60s Psychedelic number. Think of bands like The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, Strawberry Alarm Clock and The Vagrants. Maybe The Doors too and The Pretty Things. This is nothing like the other songs on the record, and it is such a dreamy, mellow number and such a gorgeous way to end such a heavy and rowdy record. Untitled pacifies you in the most soothing way imaginable, and you really feel like you’ve stepped into a totally different world compared to All Tied Up and Imonia Blues. Untitled also smacks you right in the gut, but differently to the other songs and it really is a great way to wrap up the record.
Fleshen Fella has made songs that sound like a William S. Burroughs novel; twisted, deranged and beautifully crafted. They are storytellers (Imonia Blues is a prime example of this) and they’ve easily made one of the finest records of the year with this. We may never get anything from them again, which of course is a shame, but this is such a great record and it is one that you’ll keep going back to. It’s definitely one that with every listen, you find a new reason to love every song.
And so, the start must face the end. Like all things in this world. Music lives forever. Viva Fleshen Fella!