Flood The Sky
Flood The Sky LP

Flood the Sky are a three-piece from LA who have got the American soft-rock sound down to a tee. They say they’re ‘as indie as it gets’ because they set up their own record label and recorded their album themselves, it’s just a shame their music doesn’t show as much initiative.

To their credit, the ten-track album does sound professional; flawless harmonies and seamless song sequences are overlaid with the lead singer’s strong, raspy voice. The stand out tracks include the sing-a-long ‘All I Need’, which is a bit Bon Jovi lyric-wise but, has a funky riff running throughout. Also on this list is ‘Right Where You Are’, which has great hooks and could feasibly be a single.

Other tracks of note include tune six, which gradually layers in the bass, drums and guitars and has the Vietnam War or possibly ‘Fight Club’ inspired title ‘Ruining Something Beautiful’. ‘Best For You’ has an unusual, offbeat drumming effect that gives it a punky edge, and the grungier ‘She says’ and ‘Ego’ experiment with distortion and heavy bass.

Unfortunately Flood the Sky’s ‘quiet-loud-quiet-loud-etc’ sound is so formulaic that it’s predictable rather then simply being uncomplicated, as described by themselves. This also unfortunately applies to the lyrics, which may be that little bit too cheesy, clichéd, and repetitive to appeal to British rock and indie fans.

If you like your songs with a bit of angst, humour and the odd literary reference, then this album is far too ‘Dawson’s Creek’ to really get your teeth into.

However, if you are after an enjoyable album of faultless non-challenging soft-rock songs then this may well be the sort of thing that would appeal. Think Silverchair, Nickelback, and a less inventive Incubus, i.e. the type of safe samey stuff with which local radio stations spam the airwaves.