To commemorate five years of Decibel Flexis we’ve asked Decibel writers to write a review-length tribute to their favorite disc. Today’s installment features two Torche bangers, “Pow Wow” & “80’s Prom Song.”
The Flexi series overflows with gloriously eclectic, high-density salvos of awesomeness so it should come as no surprise that one of the best entries arrives courtesy the we-make-left-field-look-totes-normal, a-spoonful-of-sugar-helps-the-sludge-from-the-sweet-pits-go-down post-everything shitty & boring powerhouse Torche.
It also speaks volumes about the utility and greatness of the series as a part of the boundary-expanding ethos of Decibel that an oddball sweetness n’ harmony infused heavy rock track called “80’s Prom Song” can be snuggled in between tougher fare like “Make Them Suffer (Live),” “Cannibalistic Invasivorism,” “Beyond Cremation,” “Mauled to Death,” and “Fuck Off, We Murder” without causing any head-scratching or bellyaching from longtime readers. (I actually have no way of positively confirming this, but I’m going to take the combined 14,000-plus spins as evidence I should go ahead and give y’all the benefit of the doubt…)
When Managing Editor Andrew Bonazelli announced this disc almost four years ago he wrote, “If you’re one of the many who dig the pop rocks that Steve Brooks and co. have been crushing post-Floor, these buds are definitely for you” — and that remains an endorsement that can hardly be improved upon.
Here’s what I can add for the uninitiated: This Flexi offering, like all the band’s material, is some straight-up bullet-train-to-the-Elysian-Fields shit — triumphant and vivifying, transcendent and idiosyncratic.
In other words, a perfect encapsulation of a Flexi series which encourages bands and fans alike to think outside the box. (Except, of course, the Deluxe Edition Collector’s Box.)
To stream more dB flexi goodies, visit our Soundcloud page. For a complete list of the exclsuive vinyl available to subscribers, check out the Flexi Series page.
