Flashback Flash has two new songs they are premiering this Saturday October 20th at Smith’s Older Bar. Joining them on the bill are PV23 and The Fill Ins from Charlotte. Doors are at 9:00PM and the cover for all this entertainment is only $8 in advance and $10 the day of the show.
Flashback Flash shares its first new material since August 2017’s thirteen-song album Beat The Clock. The two songs ,“Narcissus” and “Eros”, are almost book matched opposites. Both titles harken to Greek and Greek mythology – “self-love,” and “romantic love,” respectively. The themes are not uncoincidental, as lead vocalist and guitarist Alex Chamis explains. “I had been reading quite a lot about philosophy and Greek mythology and came upon the tale of Narcissus and the philosophy of Narcissism. The lyrics make the point that it is good to like yourself for who you are – you should like yourself. However, people today people are hung up on projecting and loving the wrong images – whether it is money, possessions, fashion, or how one gets validation from social media ”likes.” There is only one chance to get things right so love yourself for you rather than for all the extraneous trappings. Believe it or not, the theme is actually a positive one. It is just that we might be using some tough love to get people to see past the surface engagement.” Indeed, one should listen closely more than a few times to the deft wordplay in the song, starting with the opening line. “The soul makes a sound like a bell with no handle.“ 
Alex says that “Eros” is lyrically less lofty. “The song is about a girl who is unavailable. The singer asks his buddy if he knows what he has and tells the girl “We are so close, but you are so far away.”
“The songs are quite different. One is bright, happy and full of major key chords. The other is brooding and with minor chords. As different as the songs are sonically, structurally the songs are actually identical. “
“I was thinking about a song like”Hey Jude” in which many people gravitate to the latter “na-na-na-na” part although preceding it is a wholly completely different tune. We worked on and recorded “Eros” and we enjoyed the opportunity to graft to the song an outro part that takes the tune to a totally different place. When the band began to work on recording ‘Narcissus’ we worked on several endings, including a similarly extended outro that we eventually selected. We recalled that these two songs were being released together and that it would be interesting to have two sides of a coin and this duality of songs that thematically and musically contrast but yet who share a similar structure.”
The songs display a new mature complexity in theme and structure. “We continue to grow as songwriters, and we do like to stretch ourselves, as long as the songs do not get more complex just for complexity’s sake and they begin to be less musical.“ While there is an interesting new structural thoughtfulness to these tunes, they carry forward the hallmarks of previous Flashback Flash compositions. Alex comments, “There will always be vocal melodies up front. The songs are harmony driven. They are guitar driven. They all share a vintage rock format, but it you think about the rock history that has come before us, we have countless styles and influences on which to build our own material. Of course, with these songs as with any others of ours, we will blow the roof off playing them live!” Alex laughs.
In the year since their debut album, as they continue to push their creative and musical palettes, the sophisticated composition and word play may not even be obvious as to their influences. “We listen to a many different artists in the Flashback Flash household. We might have on Daft Punk, then Stevie Wonder, then something totally different. I would say that playing with and seeing our own local band contemporaries have provided influences that have rubbed off on us even more so than any national acts to whom we listen.”
“To that point, we are excited to be on a bill with PV23 and The Fill Ins. These are bands that not only value music creation but who also give emphasis to live performance. These are all acts who are going to bring it!”
“Eros” and “Narcissus” will be available starting this Saturday on all download platforms.
Website: flashbackflash.com
Facebook event for the show: facebook.com/events/2072337129445105/
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