What happened with Flashguns? After the EP launch of "Come And See The Lights" at Old Blue Last show, I was so disappointed in them. Man, where was the excitement of the early years? Where was the tight rhythm of their first recordings? All gone. Instead I saw a band transformed all of a sudden. Like some kind of manager or producer told them to keep in mind a bigger audience. Even before the trio has released their debut Passion Of A Different Kind, it seems like Flashguns is already brainwashed by big success and money.
Samuel Johnston, Giles Robinson and Olly Scanlon could be the new cousins of Kings Of Leon or Coldplay with their massive sound. When the young twentiesomethings played the single "Come And See The Lights", they sounded too much like a cliché stadium band. It became boring and annoying after hearing too many ‘oooh oooh’s’ in Passions Of A Different Kind. Even the soft voice of leader Johnston, that used to taste like sweet chocolate soul, was disappeared. And the older material, such as "Bells At Midnight" and "St George", was restyled in favour of the new sound.
When the lads released the single "I Don’t Not Love You" a year and a half ago, it was already a sign on the wall that the band was taking a new direction with their music. But live they managed to put more energy in it. That song was an exception; as for the rest, everything sounded slower and softer than ever. We missed the fire of "Locarno", "Timehouse Blue" or "Ro Shambo". These are now probably dropped in the trashcan because they don’t fit with the new Flashguns. Everybody’s expecting big things of them next year but I don’t care. Instead I’m going back to the early recordings. At least these showed the real Flashguns.
Words: Kasper - Jan Raeman
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