Born out of frustration at the stagnant lad-rock indie scene of Liverpool in the late 90s, Flamingo 50 formed through a mutual need for fast, raucous rock n' roll. Not the kind of rock and roll that you listen to on the sofa in your flat, but the kind of rock and roll that makes you sweat, jump, throw your fists in the air, and pray it never stops. Imagine the Go-Go’s… on speed… with a mission. Said mission thus far has taken them as far as France and the USA, performing with J-Church, Le Tigre, UK Subs, The Thermals, Melt Banana, Pretty Girls Make Graves and countless others.
Beautifully ragged out of the gates, the band has been polishing their craft for the past few years, and Tear It Up sees F50 hitting the stride promised by their live shows, infusing catchy vocal melodies with sheets of distortion, perfect pop song structures, and untouchable harmonies. The diminutive Louise Hanman may just be the new voice of UK punk; gut wrenchingly honest, unrelenting, and spewing vitriolic observations over her massive guitar squalls. Anchoring it all down are the perfectly placed backing vocals of Will Fitzpatrick and Morgan Brown who also provide the band’s ever-solid rhythmic heartbeat. Neither irritatingly pounding or pointlessly upbeat and vapid, the F50 equation manages to fuse classic pop songwriting and a vicious delivery with immediately memorable and rousing results.
Welcome Flamingo 50 to the states. They've already released two EP's and two splits in the UK, the album 'My Reason' on Liverpool indie Keith Records, and have a split 7" on the way with San Francisco indie punk legends J-Church (please tell us if you can think of something cooler than that). Tear it up will be released in the UK by the good folks at Spank Records, and will be accompanied by a limited edition 45 including their unbelievable rendition of Billy Bragg’s “New England”. It’s about to be our turn, so stay tuned for them to come crashing back to our shores -- punk rock will never be the same.
WEBSITE
www.flamingo50.co.uk
MYSPACE
www.myspace.com/flamingo50
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"I'm just gonna come out and say it. Louise Hanman from Flamingo 50 is my favorite singer in the whole world. Her adolescent-boyish shout, and thick Liverpool accent spread smoothly over her band's noisy-guitar, Superchunky power pop to make this perfect little nugget, like Oliver Twist just after he eats a paper cone of French fries with mayonnaise. Seriously though, this album is awesome." - Razorcake