Flavor Of The Month. Lannie Flowers

Who is Lannie Flowers? Is Flavor Of The Month a long lost album from the days Oasis broke big? The questions are not that strange, as the music on this album combines 58 years of pop music with ease. 'You Really Got Me''s riff combined with The Beatles and Oasis pop melodies. The feel of Big Star, Teenage Fanclub and The Posies, to add the latter as they share an album title, all in one? Do not be surprised to hear it all in one song. The last time so many of my musical boxes were ticked all at once was with 'Catch All' by Swag at the start of this century. A feast of musical friends all in one new album, that is what Flavor Of The Month is.

Lannie Flowers is a guitar pop hero from Texas, who started his career in music in a band called The Pengwins, to go solo in 2008. With this album he releases his fourth album. The songs started out as a series of monthly singles, free downloads, releases, soon dubbed 'March To Home'. Remixed and fresh sounding they have been collected on his latest solo album.

Pop songs are celebrated from different angles and genres. Guitar pop is at the heart of the album. Fans of the likes of Geoff Palmer and Brad Marino can definitely get their fill here and vice versa. At the same time some CSNY ballad style song can be found in here as well. The backbone of Flavor Of The Month however is guitar pop, based on melody and harmonies. Flowers truly captures decades in his songs, fully using the decades that went by since the British invasion to spice up his sound. Knowing how to write appetizing songs he borrows the elements that make it memorable instantly. A nice hook here, a great melody there, oohs and nananas to sing along with. Expect it all and more.

That more can play out as a nice guitar solo. Just as easily it can be an added piano part, a Farfisa organ note or an instantly recognisable riff integrated into a new song. Lannie Flowers so obviously enjoys creating and playing this music. He wants his musical children to have the best in life and it shows. It all results in 14 songs that have one foot in the past and one in present. Flavor Of The Month is fun and good. An album to truly enjoy.

Wout de Natris