Review: Farflung ‘Like Drones In Honey’
If you don’t know what Farflung is all about, it would be very difficult to explain to you because they are that type of band. You cannot put these LA dudes in any box, or even ask them graciously to make one designed for them. They take all the boxes, tear them down to shreds, and create something unique, that’s the best way I could describe Farflung. If I really need to dumb it down, I’d say ‘think of Hawkwind and Zappa having a love-child’, that weird-as-fuck baby would be Farflung. Well, here they are again with a new album, straight outta Sulatron Records, which I cannot recommend enough if you are a space or kraut rock lover.
Acid Drain is such a perfect opener, mixing growls, psychedelia and film excerpts. Tommy Grenas (vox) is one versatile motherfucker, and that’s one of the things I love about this band. This track will do wonders live, I can guarantee you this. It captures the very spirit of the band and yet, I didn’t really expect them to take a swerve to a sludgy highway.
If you are in a more spacey vibe, songs like Dludgebmasterpoede, which has the best breakdown in kraut rock I’ve heard in a while, going from a trip, to space then to a party with little green men, and the acid rock delight that is Baile An Doire, which I assume is sung in Gaelic. My personal favourite on this one would be Tiny Cities Made Of Broken Teeth, which could have easily been done by the Melvins in their heyday. I loved how Michael Esther’s guitar and Paul Hischier’s bass parts really sound like stars and satellites, and how the drums are there without being really there, you can enjoy this song high as a kite or sober like a lake monster.
you don’t need to build a 500-foot metallic dildo to take us to space, just listen to Farflung…
Throughout the listen of their latest effort, Like Drones In Honey, I’ve been making funny faces a few times because I wasn’t expecting any of it and didn’t know if I liked them or not. Like Touch Of The Lemmings Kiss, A Year In Japan or King Fright, I’m still not sure whether I like these songs or get what they were going for. But, again, that is their thing, which in retrospect was a smart move. Was it too smart for me? Will it be too smart for you? I guess I’m still on the fence to be perfectly honest.
I certainly struggled at times to be moved by it, and I’d say I’m well versed in music for weirdos, and I think that this record would be something that I would only recommend for aficionados of the genre. If you wish to discover Farflung, maybe Like Drones In Honey is not the one for you, I’d probably go for A Wound In Eternity instead. But I have to say that if this is the type of album you release after nearly 30 years of existence and still manage to incite curiosity in us, then you must be doing a fucking good job. See, you don’t need to build a 500-foot metallic dildo to take us to space, just listen to Farflung.
Label: Sulatron Records
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp
Scribed by: Nessie Spencer
