This is another EP, like the record from Hearts in Pencil earlier in the year, where there is a disconnect between the intriguingly arty record cover and the generic obviousness of a fair bit of the music. In the present case, the FLM record is graced by James Cottell’s elegant pencil-drawing of a child holding a balloon in the midst of a storm-lashed hayfield, but how this has any connection with the tidy but often-unspectacular rock on the inside defeats me.
Opener ‘Titan’ is built on a couple of basic classic-metal riffs, but instead of Bruce Dickinson operatics, the singer goes for an East End drawl, which actually works fine. The song itself is pretty forgettable, but there is evidence of power and co-ordination in the four-piece band’s meaty performance.
‘Following Dreams’ is closer to indie-rock, and indeed folk-rock. The former is represented in the pretty, finger-picked intro, the latter by the vocal melody, which has a pleasingly natural arc and is sung with a rather loveable guilelessness. The entry of the fuzzy rhythm guitar is predictable, but doesn’t damage the vibe too much. The lyric, describing the experience of a teenage runaway in the city, is unoriginal and clumsy in places, but the singer sounds both sincere and compassionate. In all, the song is a qualified success, though it could do with pruning to remove a few dead bars here and there.
The closing title-track again suggests that FLM are actually progressive folkies in disguise, as the triple time intro section borrows the chords from ‘Nights in White Satin’ by the Moody Blues. The singing is on the variable side, with an ungainly melodic line which pushes the vocalist into the comic depths of his range. Cutting their losses a couple of minutes in, the band junk the folk and introduce a distinctly odd bit of prog metal with some decent rock singing at the end, but this particular hybrid lacks much vigour.
Summing up, FLM have made a decently-produced record, and the band is made up of useful musicians with an ear for a tune, although the level of ambition is not high. There’s more than a little confusion about whether they are a melodic rock band or prog-metallers or indie revivalists, but if they can produce more tunes as attractive as ‘Following Dreams’ and less of the cookie-cutter rock, then they’ll be a welcome addition to the local scene.