It's Cool by Flender
It’s Cool, Flender’s second self-released studio album, stabs, squeals, and squirms its way into the world to bring you noisy fluid sensations and surreal anti-capitalism. The album melts together noise rock, punk, jazz, pop, prog, and some mercury into a shiny work of art.
What started as a joke became something important but still hilarious to these Texan friends, who formed Flender two years ago as an improvising rock band with a healthy obsession for guitar textures and interplay. Influenced by bands like U.S. Maple, Cheer Accident, Arab on Radar, and Sediment Club, Flender has since played with no wave super group Lydia Lunch Retrovirus, ATX noise punks Super Thief, and international percussion improviser Tatsuya Nakatani, to name a few.
Their first few releases, recorded on phones or field recorders, reflect a more unhinged, accidental band, inspired by the abrasive rhythmic sounds of no wave and skronk. Their first studio album, FireFowl, consists of two long-form songs expressing a range of repetitive riffs mixed with freakout galore. It’s Cool is a psychedelic collage with groovier riffs, jagged time changes, and a dedicated vocalist exploring warped wordplay, capitalistic hypocrisy, and poetic surrealism. It’s an album for fans of rock that’s liable to break.
Bassist and engineer Tobin comes from Houston’s Laktating Yak and Dead Time, drummer Beth comes from Denton’s Bukkake Moms and too many others to name, vocalist/poet/guitarist An and poet/guitarist Kalen are members of Houston’s KA, and poet/guitarist Jeffrey is Flender’s newest shredder on this album.
Flenjoy some fun trivia about the album:
1. Different design and track order between the CDs and the tapes (for those collectors out there ;)
2. CD comes with full-color 16-page booklet of lyrics and artwork by vocalist/guitarist An Es Thetic.
3. Recorded and mixed by bassist/engineer Tobin.
4. CDs, tapes, and posters designed by guitarist Kalen and printing done by Anklebiters Publishing.
5. Music video for "good buddy" produced by Kalen available here: https://youtu.be/2FrmsPtMM48
Tracklist
| 1. | debt munster | 3:03 |
| 2. | w0w0w | 3:31 |
| 3. | vviper II | 4:44 |
| 4. | bug lite-yeer | 6:20 |
| 5. | clapp 4 scabies | 3:04 |
| 6. | it's cool | 7:28 |
| 7. | cowboi cornea | 3:39 |
| 8. | colby diablo | 6:01 |
| 9. | huhuh | 8:45 |
| 10. | good buddy | 7:33 |
Credits
an <vocals>
beth <drums>
jeffrey <guitar>
kalen <guitar>
tobin <bass>
recorded and mixed by tobin at beyonce's garage
album design and artwork by kalen
lyric booklet artwork by an
mastered by weasel walter
