New music to listen to this week: Flagship

Now Hear This

Roisin O'Connor
Wednesday 11 January 2017 03:58 EST
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North Carolina duo Flagship
North Carolina duo Flagship (Press image)

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Now Hear This is back for 2017 with Flagship, a North Carolina duo (Drake Margolnick and drummer Michael Finster) looking to make some waves in the UK.

They released their debut EP in late 2013 and have supported everyone from The Black Keys to Kings of Leon, and Iron & Wine.

We have the international exclusive premiere of the first single off their upcoming debut LP, "Mexican Jackpot" - written with frequent collaborator Leo Solis

Have a listen:

This track, along with the album itself, was produced by drummer Joey Waronker, [Beck, REM], member of Atoms for Peace, who also produced albums for Other Lives, Yeasayer and The Moth and the Flame.

I love this sound, those twanging guitars makes me think of summer at a time when it's still getting dark at 4pm - big, bold and emotive - Margolnick says it's about two people, his dream girl (the verses) and someone he's pissed off with (chorus).

Soundwise it draws again on some of the 80s synth influences that have been so prevalent for the past couple of years but also has a great, athemic rock sound - actually pretty similar to Sundara Karma and their recently-released debut.

Of their upcoming album The Electric Man Finster says: “Making people really feel something when they listen to our songs has always been important to us,” explains Finster. “I don’t think of music in terms of a lyric or a note or a beat.

"It’s more about the feeling it conveys, whether it's absolute joy or that kind of feeling you can’t quite put your finger on. I love it when a song can take me somewhere, and I think we achieved that on this album more than ever before.”

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