FLASH THE READIES // DUNA - TRANSPARENT YELLOW VINYL (LP)

FLASH THE READIES // DUNA - TRANSPARENT YELLOW VINYL (LP)

RELEASE DATE: 12th February 2020

On their sophomore release for dunk!records, the Czech Republic’s Flash the Readies take further leaps into post-rock and post-metal territories with their unique merging of instrumental textures and dramatic psychedelic outpourings. Whether exploring ambient soundscapes, building spacious layers of melody or propelling forward with aggressive intensity, Duna is an immersive experience that illustrates their thorough dedication to embracing and expounding upon all the genre has to offer.

This is a record without a sense of allegiance to structural expectations, moving with a sense of freedom that stems from their consistent transitions through artistic definitions. Having started as a more traditional indie rock band yet owning a sense of inspiration to search the myriad possibilities of composition, their evolution has been fluid and therefore never beholden to a single textbook. Duna continues the broad, post rock-leaning path of its predecessor Kayos, but as a more cohesive concept that flows effortlessly from track to track, with standout moments within each piece that flip the script of expectations. For instance, the guitar melody that concludes “Quit Quiet” is one that listeners might come to expect to hear during moments of tranquil ambience, but while it is constructed out of an initial drone sequence it is then enveloped by a cacophonous wall of noise and percussion that lifts it to new heights.

Sometimes the best way to achieve something truly unique and intriguing is to stop trying to be any one thing. This has been a hallmark of Flash the Readies’ journey from record to record. Duna has patiently winding, thoughtful passages with touches of psychedelic experimentation, crucial stretches of calm that unexpectedly serve to propel the music forward rather than slowing it down, and impassioned bursts of heaviness that carry a vital, visceral immediacy. By never allowing themselves to be nailed down to a single conceptual demand the band has created a work that feels entirely cohesive and fully realized. Where some bands become beholden to the formula, Flash the Readies retain a sense of excitement every time out precisely because one can never be sure what is approaching around each successive corner.

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