Use SpringAYP10! during checkout for 10% Off All Non-Music Purchases 
(excludes wholesale pin orders & gift certificates (CODE CANNOT BE APPLIED AFTER AN ORDER HAS BEEN PLACED)

Flatliners- The Great Awake LP

Flatliners- The Great Awake LP
Flatliners- The Great Awake LP
SKU: fat723lp.fat
Band/Title: Flatliners
You can earn 17 AYP PUNK ROCK POINTS on this product!
Price: $16.99
Product Details
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD INCLUDED!

If you’re at all familiar with The Flatliners, you know this Canadian group plays fast punk rock with noticeable (hornless) ska elements. While this is true, their sound on The Great Awake has strayed away from the ska sound and even closer to the fast/punk sound. Comparisons to The Lawrence Arms and Smoke or Fire are easily drawn by listening to The Great Awake, from the raspy vocals to the straightforward punk rock sound they now play. The Flatliners do, however, have a bit of a funkier edge to them as they have not completely abandoned their ska sound just yet (noticeable in songs such as "This Respirator” and "Mastering the World’s Smallest Violin”). Maybe not so coincidentally, all three of these bands are currently on Fat Wreck Chords. That’s right; the argument that all of the Fat Wreck Chords’ bands sound the same is not hurt by the release of this album. But the question is, is that necessarily a bad thing? Not at all. The Flatliners play this type of music exceptionally well, and while they have lost a bit of their originality, they are nonetheless catchy and fun to listen to. Though most of their songs range from the normal two to three minutes, the closing song "KHTDR” lasts seven minutes and never seems to drag on. In fact, it turns out to be one of the better songs on the album. That is a true testament to the amount of skill this band has in keeping a song interesting; I am someone who is used to one to two minute songs and am easily distracted/bored if a song does not do something interesting. The little bit of ska influence left on this album serves to keep songs from growing stale and gives them their own identification. Though used sparingly, not only do the ska elements keep the music interesting, but they provide the much needed function of lightening things up a bit. The Flatliners’ socially conscious lyrics can get quite dark at times; they cover everything from deciphering their place in the world to remembering those who have passed on. This provides some depth to the album that you might not notice on the first listen, as the lyrics are not always easy to distinguish. That is not to say that The Flatliners do not have plenty of sing-along moments, such as in "Mother Teresa Chokeslams the World” where you can’t help but want to yell "We’re tired of waiting, tired of waiting” along with the rest of the band. When it comes right down to it, The Great Awake can be summarized fairly easily. Is it the album of the year? Nope. But worth a buy? Almost definitely yes if you are at all into catchy punk rock.