

It probably will come as no surprise that I get a lot of direct messages on Twitter from bands. They send me links from all genres of music, and for the sake of fairness, I’ll take a look see. The bad thing is, sometimes it’s a mixed bag. I’ll go to the website and cringe for a few minutes. Then there are gems. Two days ago I got an automated message from Ben from Flops Ego. I get to a very minimalist website with just a pic and their EP, and it was so worth the trip.

First, the facts (what there are of them): Flops Ego is a three piece unit out of Kalamazoo, MI. The lineup includes Ben Thorpe (lead singer, lead guitarist), Tyler White (drums, vocals), and Nick Miller (bass). There’s an interesting tidbit about how they started, and I’ll let Ben tell it, “…The next thing I say nobody knows so you should be honored in this scoop. We all met in school and we had jazz band together.” The band came together officially in 2014. The rest, as they stated on the website ArtistTrove , ” The biography of this band is top secret due to NSA complaints.” Flops Ego released their 1st EP HowDow in 2014, the acoustic live single “One Of Us” in 2015, and the single “Armageddy” in 2016

To call Flops Ego merely progressive rock would be a over simplification. Their lyrics, filled with anti-establishment and alienation, are seeped in frustration. The band, like in the song “Fox”, seems to want to show their malcontent through a musical boot to the face. Ben’s voice is higher than most progressive rock singers, but works wonderfully to cut cleanly above the heavy crunch of the melodies. Ben’s guitar tends to combine with the songs, but his solos on “Chick-Fill-Eh” and “Far From Reason” are outstanding, crisp with little distortion. Tyler and Nick’s rhythms are complex with multiple tempo changes, slow from staccato to crunchy. Nick plays his bass like a lead instrument. They could almost be considered Math Rock (see Hawking post). Howdow and “Armageddy” are the proof that they’ve recorded a preview of a incredible career to come.

Flops Ego is currently recording for the rest of the year, with a tour planned afterwards. Their music is available on all streaming platforms and online music retailers.

Website:

http://www.flopsego.com

Still VERY under construction, but you

Can stream their music there.

Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdtiNEEXnuOlbSQULrBFW0w

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