Flagland – ‘Love Hard’

There will always be artists that distinctly stand out compared to others in their genre. Whether it is due to the sound of the music or the twang of a singer’s voice, some artists have the capacity to make listeners do a double-take with the unique style of their noises. Garage Rock band Flagland has managed to do just that, with up and coming album ‘Love Hard’, by creating a style so different, they can barely be categorized into a specific genre. Perhaps a better description of what listeners can expect is the band’s self-coined term “panic rock”.

Early friends Kerry Kalberg and Dan Francia, aided by college associate Nick Dooley, formed Flagland in the heart of New York City. Since then, these rockers have managed to release three albums, including ‘Danger Music/Party Music’, ‘Tireda Fightin’, and a recent split album with fellow punks Big Ups. While all vividly portray this distinct music for the panicked mind, ‘Love Hard’ manages to stand out more dominantly as the wild sound the band has been searching for. With the release of single ‘Comfortable Life’ from the new album, listeners can certainly ease into Flagland’s sound, but can in no way expect what is in store for the rest of ‘Love Hard’. Songs such as ‘Searchers’ and ‘Yr GF’ immediately get straight to the heart of a 90’s grunge and punk “panic” blend. With angsty lyrics and Kalberg’s emotion driven vocal repoirtoire, very punk, even soulful, elements to the music can easily be detected.

There is a definitive hard element to the sound of Flagland, one that some listeners can easily find overbearing or simply not enjoy but there are other beautiful moments of ‘Love Hard’ where Flagland manages to show off their vivid variety. ‘Superlove’ and ‘Proud’ show off those more tender sides, with one being an acoustic song, and the other just soothing sounds without lyrics. Flagland even manages to uniquely combine this soft portrayal of music with punk flair; listeners should definitely look at this blend in tracks ‘Greed’ and ‘Mosquito Bite’. But, in ‘Love Hard’ as a whole, there is nothing more satisfying than a good head-banging and moshing tune, which Flagland has proven through defiantly catchy tracks ‘Let It Go’, ‘Swingin’, and ‘Unfinished Business’.

The choice quality of Flagland and of the album ‘Love Hard’ has to, in the end, be their ability to appeal to fans of various genres. They sound like Weezer, mixed with Pixies, but also some GBV and a whole other slew of defiantly unique bands. It is easy to see where this band will be heading in the future, no doubt with ‘Love Hard’ attracting amazing popularity.

HANNAH PARK