From Colorado, Maine come the creative and dark vision of Flaunt, a band that has as much mystery to them as skill. It is difficult to place Flaunts sound in a specific genre box, as they take so many cues from so many different sources. They try their hand, successfully, at many different sounding songs. The end product is a unique sound that reveals more and more with every new play through.
Opening with the track Rave On, the album Rave Noir quickly sets its very interesting pace. The production is artsy and clean, the vocals are emotional and smooth, and the beat sinks into your psyche quickly. This is a perfect introduction to the devious and meaningful style of Flaunt, and as far as opening tracks go, this one is single worthy and a great hook. Meanwhile, the next track I Don’t Wanna Fall Asleep is at the opposite genre spectrum to the almost R&B inspired Rave On. This song focuses more on Flaunt’s rock roots, and successfully manages to create a song just as catchy as the previous track.
Restraint is the bands current single and swimming in the grim waters of the noir genre sound, this is a gamble for the band to showcase, as it is takes over a minute to reach a point that feels like a true song. This might come off as a negative, but it simply means that when it comes to radio, there usually isn’t much patience for long openings (just ask TOOL). The song has both a catchy tagline and a very interesting structure. Although this track doesn’t define Flaunt, it is a good indicator of the risks they are willing to take to create a unique and pleasing sound.
Moving on throughout the album, it is clear to see that Flaunt doesn’t care about sounding like just another carbon copy of other radio friendly bands. It is apparent on songs like Messiah and Kill With Honey, Flaunt lays it all down in the name of a true artistic vision. These two tracks are both quite the journey on their own.
To say that Flaunt is unique is almost an understatement. They sound like no one I have heard, and yet I can hear so many inspirations in their sound. It has moments of NIN, of Massive Attack, of hip hop artists and R&B singers; and yet somehow they manage all that diversity into a cohesive album. If you want something new, something guaranteed to grab your attention, and a journey worth taking, then go grab Rave Noir as soon as you can.
9/10
