The Flashpot Moments - s/t
The eleven song debut of The Flashpot
Moments will stick in your memory after even one listen. Singer, songwriter,
and occasional drummer Tim Cawley has released a powerful reminder of melodic
hard rock’s ability to connect with audiences in an age when other forms occupy
more of the popular consciousness. His vocal and songwriting talents are
considerable, but he’s never risks self-indulgence on this release. The songs
are tightly focused and geared to entertain, but there’s a lot of intelligence
going into these cuts that makes the songwriting even more memorable. The
Flashpot Moments leans more to the melodic hard rock end of the spectrum, but
Cawley isn’t afraid to take the gloves off at the right time to hit listeners
with uncompromising blasts of hard rock that swing like a mofo. This is a great
debut by any stretch of the term and it’s apparent that the extended time
Cawley invested in its writing and recording has paid off with quite a
memorable debut.
“Places Unknown” is the clearest anthem
on the album and sends the collection straight into the stratosphere from the
beginning with a wonderful approach to vocals and guitars that enthusiastically
support the singing. The second track “Strangers Dance” is the audience’s first
deep glimpse into the range of Cawley’s songwriting talents. His ability to
write songs that have universal meaning sets him apart from many much more
labored practitioners of this form because he never feels like it’s a stretch –
instead, Cawley’s singing and songwriting seems to sense these patterns
characterizing all of our lives, these flashpot moments in our own lives, and
he understand how to depict them in song. “On Some Awful Night” is our first
hint of how convincingly he’s capable of rocking out and setting his melodic
concerns on the backburner. The chorus isn’t quite as catchy, on purpose, as
the earlier songs, but the passion in the tune is the same and you’ll be hard
pressed to not listen again.
The real rock muscle of this release
emerges for the first time on “The Learning Curve”. This is a balls to the
wall, sleek rocker with great guitars and a particularly effective rhythm
section performance, but it seems even a little pale compared to the full on
fury conjured by his riffing in the track “Hands Up!”. He takes a common phrase
here too and invests it with all kinds of meaning; the pay off line of each
chorus is delicious and Cawley delivers it with obvious playful relish. The
final rock-strained track on The Flashpot Moments, “Can’t Wait to Find Out”,
has enough cynicism to power an entire album and the point of view is
surprisingly sour, but he has the good sense to give it an appealing musical
slant that keeps the experience from being unenjoyable. The album’s conclusion
“The Last Stand” will wow many and its extended length isn’t daunting in any way.
The same imagination making the rest of the album soar is in full effect here
and puts a memorable exclamation point on this great album.
9 out of 10 stars
9 out of 10 stars
Gilbert Mullis
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