Philadelphia’s Flatwaves is back with its unique amalgam of ’90s shoegaze haze, which is mixed with the raw energy of rock ‘n’ roll, and the psychedelic swirl of fuzzed-out garage rock. The band’s latest, delivers searing guitars and a driving rhythm section, which is sure to leave the listener with impressions of scorched earth and Lynch-ian dream sequences.
The band released its debut LP, Numbra, in 2022 on Philly’s own Abandon Everything Records, which was described as a “psychedelic wasteland.” July 11, Flatwaves drops its second LP, Tell Me Secrets, again on Abandon Everything Records. It was recorded by Justin Bartlett at Studio 4, and finds the band continuing its explorations of death and disorientation.
About the album, Flatwaves says, “With Tell Me Secrets, we wanted to build off the moody vibe we cultivated on our first album, Numbra, while taking a step forward with our songwriting and just further exploring our identity because we draw on so many points of inspiration. Recording at Studio 4 in Conshohocken, PA, we leaned a bit harder into our rock ‘n’ roll bop DNA, but we also definitely retained our penchant for dreamy, David Lynchian storytelling and a fuzzed-out aesthetic, keeping it dark, heavy, and huge. We had a couple days of pre-production, which we’ve never done before, where we live recorded our songs and tweaked things, sometimes heavily, before recording for real. Justin Bartlett, who engineered the record, gave lots of feedback on the songs and it was super collaborative all around.
“Lyrically, these songs are sometimes based in real life, sometimes based on the mystical, but they’re all from our reality, or more accurately, our attempts to escape consensus reality. ‘Paloma,’ for instance, is manifesting fate for a common dickhead, whereas the song ‘Core,’ a cover written by Tara’s friend, Atlantis Black, has lyrics that evoke crossing over into an obsessive dream world. ‘Tell Me Secrets’ is an invitation to mix your dreams in with your reality and maybe getting the hell out of here, if only for about 40 minutes.”
Pre-order Tell Me Secrets here.
Catch them here:
July 12 at Philadelphia at Ortlieb’s Lounge
June 28 in Los Angeles at The Echo for Dum Dum Fest III
Photo courtesy of Bob Sweeney.
