The Breakdown
Bahrain born but London based psych infused quartet Flamingods return with their sixth album, ‘Head of Pomegranate’ out now on the Liquid Lable. It takes the listener on a euphonic world tour, starting in Los Angeles with the psychedelic dream pop delight ‘Dreams (On The Strip)’, we then head to the coast for current single Adana. Musically it conjures the image of Californian beach where the sun is rising and there’s opportunity in the air. It’s the sound of 13th Floor Elevators meets Two-door Cinema Club sprinkled with spices, a real joyful track.
The record then takes a darker tone heading down the modern alt-psych road beloved by Love and Rockets. Heading East we have Gutterball which is an absolute synth-fest but with an Eastern vibe which keeps the musical fusion flowing. Across the next few tracks the energy ebbs and flows nicely floating somewhere between psychedelic / shoegaze and new wave.
The album stalls a little in the latter half but Eastern Cowboy raises the roof with big riffs and beautiful bombast, preceding the outro and title track which is named after Bahraini village where band member Kamal Rasool’s father grew up. Rasool’s father passed away due to covid during the writing process and there are many other tributes scattered around the record lending a personal feel to the album.
Producer Ben H Allen has done a top notch job too, each instrument has such an essential part to play and the vocal harmonies are as well worked as you find on any modern piece of work. His crisp production allows the true sound of the band to shine through, even panning the vocals side to side on one track to give a swirling feel to fit with the cascading synths.
As a body of work it sounds delicious, mostly upbeat and energetic and when the tempo is brought down it’s smooth enough to meditate if that’s your thing. Fuzzy, summery fun – it’s the perfect remedy to a drizzly October in Britain. It’s an alt-indie psychedelic feast and a terrific introduction to who Flamingods are.
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