The Flying Nuns
Everything’s Impossible These Days
Q Division
There is a moment when, as a casual listener or a jaded music critic, the opening notes of a CD ring out and cause the listener to pause. Something is different, there is a palpable difference to this band. There is something in the mixture, the ways the drums and guitars coalesce together. The sinewy rhythms of the bass that underlie the whole edifice and the singer=EDs style all work together. It doesn’t happen often, when you hear that perfect moment, a pop music epiphany where you tell your friend to hush and you look at the speakers and you think to yourself, “Yes, yes, yes.”
Everything’s Impossible These Days, the latest from The Flying Nuns, fits this description to a “T.” It is as if someone broke off the best elements of my favorite bands and threw them together under the guise of The Flying Nuns. Elements of The Pixies, Pavement, Red Telephone, and a dash of Guided By Voices all heard refracted through the lenses of a post-punk ethos that allows these elements to coalesce. They maintain a high energy level throughout with songs that reflect musicians with a deep awareness of post 1977 bands. Yet, somehow they keep the whole thing fresh and viable without sounding dated or retro. Shimmering melodies and sing along choruses soften the angular edges of these anthems and reveal a band that is equally at home with power pop or post punk.
The Flying Nuns have been playing together for over ten years, and while each member now lives in another city, you couldn’t tell it the way they play together. Manic, frenetic, and ultimately, very cool all describe their sound. This is probably one of the best CDs I’ve heard this year. Go buy it.
The Flying Nuns: http://www.flyingnuns.com
