FLATLANDS / SUNSHINE REPUBLIC
Split LP
F1. The Bikes Were Locked Together And So Were They
F2. Scunthorpe Shirt Potato
S1. Celebrity Fat Cunts
Flatlands are seriously heavy in a stripped-down Isis style, which monolithic, catchy riffs crashing into each other and plenty of screaming. Two quite long songs from them. Sunshine Republic are on a more experimental tip, reminding these ears of House Of Low Culture, though there are elements of doom, post-rock and noise in the mix too. They contribute one really long song.
Limited to 330 LPs on 180g grey vinyl.
Co-released with Krayon and the bands.
The records were in PVC sleeve with artwork on acetate sheets. SR took it upon themselves to use some recycled sleeves from charity shop records.
Reviews
Flatlands play grunting, drawn-out sludge that’s typically morose and oppressive. Urgghhhhh. They drag two tracks across their side of this slab of grey vinyl and there’s very little joy to be had in their murky domain. Sure, there might be the brief twittering of birds on that second song, but it’s not long before things sink once more into subterranean realms of sorrow and gloom. Like I said, Urgghhhhh.
Sunshine Republic are the surprise boon here. Their cruddy name made me expect some kind of wonky European emo, whereas they are, in fact, more in line with Asva or the kind of stark landscape Earth painted with their 'Hex' album. They play one long, slow-motion instrumental with lagging drums and a feeling of eerie, malevolent emptiness about it, gradually dissolving into a series of groans, drones and hissing white noise as the needle drags its weary way across to the finish line.
- Collective-Zine
Sunshine Republic are in no hurry to get anywhere fast and that's fine with me... starting from a very quiet dynamic build up (almost too quiet due to a lack of mastering) the track slowly builds into a huge wave of noise with vocals gruffly mixing into the distorted guitars. Sunshine Republic specialise in colouring the whole spectrum with sound and filling highs and lows with absorbing riffs. The detail in the builds with electronic sounds is beautiful... with better recording and mastering this band will sound phenomenal... as they do constantly live.
Flatlands on the other hand have a different angle with their two songs (Sunshine's is a very long fifteen minute or so offering). They are a heavier proposition of band hitting you straight away with riffage that is quiet delectable and some superb screaming from singer Mike, the immense amounts of reverb on the voice making him sound stunningly disturbed! The backing vocals provided by the bass player Simon provide a nice more melodic texture against the harsh-as-fuck screams. The structuring of each of the songs here is superb and the sound is more mature than their year existence, with crushing bass lines and pounding drums augmented by dynamic guitar lines and crushingly brilliant screams. These guys are new contenders to the crown. In a world where too many bands copy more established acts, Flatlands take their rural monotony of life and provide it with thrilling dynamic music.
I suggest you buy this 12" as a better debut release will be hard to find this year.
- Ninehertz