Search - Flume :: Note to Self

Time spent well

joshua m davis | alton, md | 01/11/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Washington DC, long known for its politic-heavy punk rock (thanks mostly to indie greats Fugazi, and their label-mates on Dischord) seems like the least likely place for a band like Flume to spring from. Drummer Terry Burcham and guitarist David Nicholas are big fans of Rush, and singer Heather Nicholas falls for Yoga and John Denver. In fact, the most punk thing about the band might be their dissenting stance on commercial whaling (personally, I think anyone who doesn't go whaling for private reasons is just a monster!)Instead, Flume rely on soft, sweeping guitar and vocal hooks stolen from old Sundays and Innocence Mission records, and a fantastically jumpy drummer that makes the band's overall sound "pop" without coming off as anything too close to a commercial ploy. Maybe that's why Flume sound so refreshing. "Feather the Nest" rides on the kind of early-R.E.M. jangle that hasn't been seen since Grunge took over the alt-rock songbook in the early nineties. Luckily Nicholas and company didn't seem to be paying attention. Instead, songs like "Made Up My Mind" and "My Open Question," hop around like kids in toy stores on sugar highs, while the more mid and down-tempo tracks like "Borrowed Apartments" and "True Enough" recall romantic summer nights spent in Doc Martins and deserted beaches. There's nothing revolutionary here, but there's also nothing that sounds too contrived or indulgent. In fact, the whole of Flume, and their debut record "Note to Self" is nothing more complicated than your average everyday great neighborhood rock and roll band."