Current band obsession: Flying Colors

[eicca]

Anyone else heard of these cats? Mike Portnoy and some other dudes have put out three albums as Flying Colors. When I first heard them four-ish years ago I thought "that's cool" and didn't really listen again. But I decided to give them another whirl this last week and actually do a proper listening session.

Wow am I glad I did. Their vocalist has a fairly typical sound a la Coldplay, The Black Keys or a little Imagine Dragons and maybe Bastille but as the layers go deeper the prog influence starts to unfold. The first album is a collection of catchy "pop" tunes and wraps up with an 11-minute prog masterpiece which paves the way for albums 2 and 3. Those records sucked me right in and held my attention all the way to the end. They're paced well with good arc. They don't go for the huge processed sound like you might expect from a prog band, keeping their texture more on the "garage" end of the spectrum, but with the extremely intelligent songwriting, the results are quite satisfying.

TL;DR Check them out if you haven't already, they're a really crafty blend of modern "indie grunge pop" and prog rock.

Must be 18 or older to call.

[fullonshred]

Never heard of them. Listening now. Not sure what I think so far;

didn't much like Color. Just cued up Infinite Fire.

I am a big Steve Morse fan. Dixie Dregs "What If" I still listen to today.

Liking Infinite Fire much better. Especially the part where Steve Morse starts getting off at 5:27. Dang that guy is a MONSTA!

[eicca]

Never heard of them. Listening now. Not sure what I think so far;

didn't much like Color. Just cued up Infinite Fire.

I am a big Steve Morse fan. Dixie Dregs "What If" I still listen to today.

Liking Infinite Fire much better. Especially the part where Steve Morse starts getting off at 5:27. Dang that guy is a MONSTA!

It took me several listenings to really get enthusiastic too.

[RiverDog]

I love them. But IMHO, Casey McPherson sounds anything but typical. The timbre of his voice is so unique.

[glasshand]

That's a weird coincidence - I just heard of them a few days ago and started listening a bit. They're a little proggy for my usual taste, but there's some excellent musicianship on display there.

[eicca]

Second Nature might be my favorite album. An epic journey of diverse songwriting climaxes with Peaceful Harbor and ties it all off with Cosmic Symphony. Wow.