Flashback Tracks is one of IRC’s longest running song/artist profile series. There is plenty to flashback too. When we do Flashback Tracks we are looking specifically for songs that we think didn’t get enough notice for how good they were.
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PLOY – Washington, D.C.
Crash Island – Cardiff, England
The Colourful Band – Edinburgh, Scotland
Mike Amerika – Sewell, New Jersey
Richard The Lionhearted – Columbia, Missouri
PLOY – “Fool”
D.C. based duo PLOY makes music that causes people to “think and groove all at once,” according to vocalist Gil Wojcik.
His partner, Justin Victoria, is an old friend. Together, they love great music that is unique and original and decided to make some of their own.
“We think we have something special. I hope you like us.”
Influences: The strokes, Washed out, Two Door Cinema Club, Radiohead, Kanye West, Wild Nothing, Dashboard Confessional, Andrew Bird.
Crash Island – “Nothing’s Fine”
The story of Crash Island is about the wandering Basque/Spanish songwriter – Jeremy Levy – who washed up in Cardiff, his chance London encounter with a keyboard and guitar-wielding French octopus, their mutual acquaintance introduction to a bass rumbling, Jacques Cousteau-hatted French barista and subsequent London-born, and a South African-born, punk rock-inspired shakeup on drums?
The result? Warm. Cold. Passionate. Sophisticated. Raw. Honest.
The Colourful Band – “Stars”
In 2012, having just returned from Australia, Edinburgh, Scotland indie trio decided on a name – The Colourful Band – which came from “the contrast in how much color there is in countries with sunshine, compared with home,” says guitarist Jon Tyler.
TCB’s debut EP, recorded at Chem19 with acclaimed Scottish producer Andy Miller (Sons and Daughters, Mogwai, Arab Strap, The Fratellis), was well received locally.
One of the songs, “Stars” was licensed to the BBC for a TV drama giving the music some national and international play.
That spurred the formation of the band featuring Tyler, Steve Tonge on bass, and Dave Curry on drums.
A follow-up mini-album was home-recorded with a limited number of copies printed. The band sold them exclusively at shows as they toured around the globe.
The band has opened for artists and bands such as Jeremy Jay, The Corncrakes, Biffy Clyro, Yusuf Azak and are influenced by The Strokes, Bob Dylan, The Velvet Underground, Neil Young, Belle and Sebastian.
Mike Amerika – “Impossible Girl”
Sewell, New Jersey solo artist Mike Mazzeo, who has been creating blistering rock music under the moniker Mike Amerika since 2010, released a spectacular DIY debut album in 2012, In The Business to Burn.
Together with bassist John Hughes and drummer Steph Brettman, his songs evolved from demo solo recordings to a debut album that generated plenty of buzz on blogs and zines.
The trio has also performed shows in and around Sewell. Not surprisingly Mike Amerika is influenced by The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Black Sabbath, Nirvana, Weezer, and Chuck Berry.
Richard The Lionhearted – “Miss Smith”
Columbia, Missouri’s psych-rock indie band Richard the Lionhearted‘s debut release, Outliers, is a six-song EP recorded, mixed, and DIY-style by the band in early 2012.
Outliers received favorable reviews from both critics and listeners: “melodic, moody guitars, British Invasion-era backbeats, creative time changes, and surprisingly soulful crooning,” wrote the Columbia Daily Tribune. Not long after, the news outlet named the band as one of four local bands “poised to enjoy a big 2012.”
In 2011, the band played several festivals and a handful of shows along the east coast and Midwest opening for national acts Other Lives, Oberhofer, Youth Lagoon, Tapes ‘n Tapes, Jerusalem and the Starbaskets, and Jessica Lea Mayfield.
Influences: The Byrds, The Stones, Black Sabbath, Jefferson Airplane, Cream, Roy Orbison, Everly Brothers, Townes Van Zandt,among others.