Six months to the day after their first review in Demo Universe (for the Play It By Ear cassette), Flicker. returns with We're Not Aliens and the magic is still cookin' like good soup. As before, Flicker. expertly disguises itself as a lo-fi indie-rock band, but we know better: they are abundantly talented musicians, driven to push the padded mailer with all the power in their mighty hands. Apparently these boys catch a load of doo-doo for their production values, or lack thereof. What fools these mortals be! Are 64 pristine digital tracks needed to convey the burgeoning creativity of this bold threesome? I think not! The band's death-metal-on-drugs cover of of Billy Joel's "Pressure" perfectly encapsultes the Flicker. sound: free, confident, funny and completely wacked. So guys, like, what's with the period after your name?

Side two of this tape is solo work by drummer-singer Mike Verna and a different ball of wax entirely. "Pit Of Stew" sounds like Tom Waits on an assortment of unmarked pills. "Lazy Suzy" is a goofy little ditty that owes five bucks to the Bonzo Dog Band (whether Mike knows it or not). "I'm The One" sucked a bit too much helium than is healthy, "WGM Blues" is a crud-encrusted homage to (or mockery of?) scratchy old records and "I'm A Flag" is lugubrious and warped. He says the band can't do this stuff, and he's probably right. But I'd like to hear them try.

Contact Information:
422 Admiral Street
Providence, RI 02908
(401) 272-6564
USA

Other recordings by Flicker.:
Play It By Ear (1995)

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