The Flash-Cult September Issue
What is this thing?
Welcome to "Flash-Cult", swift insights for the advice-averse!
Each month, join us on a journey from the electrifying strums of rock to the soothing melodies of jazz, from the serene waves of ambient to the pulsating rhythms of electronic. No need for long reads—just a quick, fun glimpse and an invite to explore the best tunes we've discovered.
Flash-Cult choices of the month
Our special selection of great music released during this month.
Brigitte Calls me Baby
The Future Is Our Way Out
Rock and roll
The sung by Crooner, the jingle-jangling guitars, easy and fascinating melodies: the rock and roll is not dead, and bands from all over the world cyclically return to remind it to us. Of course, it is very difficult to look at the BCMBs without thinking that we are faced with a modern and less stoned version of Morrisey and the Smiths, but it would be unfair to stop at this superficial gaze: the somewhat rebellious and very swag spirit, the slightly cursed attitudibe but with hedonist touch, the desperate and romantic sung ... in short, when rock does not know which side to go, he returns to its 50s origins (again, like Smiths did, in a way). And, in general, it never fails.
Flash Advice Song: I want to die in the suburbs
Wunderhorse
Midas
Alternative Rock
Saturated guitars, drums blasted in your face, a raucous and vaguely angry singing: a perfect union between the early Pearl Jam and the Red House Painteirs... ok, I may also be a bit repetitive, in my musical tastes and in my recommendations, but wasn't me to decide to release so many wonderful albums that praise the American rock of the 90s. The latest to arrive are Wunderhorse that immediately projected Midas into my heavy rotation. There are some flaws and smudges - some songs would have benefited from a much more epic arrangement (only God knows what Superman can become in live), but overall we have to forgive them: they are English. If these don't make you want to put your Converse All Stars back on your feet, I don't know what else will.
Flash Advice Song: Superman
Bright Eyes
Five dice, all three
Folk
Let's make it quick: those who don't like American folk won't find anything surprising in this album. It has all the stylistic features of the genre: lame stories, heartbreaking melodies, choruses to sing at the top of your lungs, guitars thrown at the moon. And yet this is also a Conor Oberst album. Now, there are artists you love, there are those you admire, there are those you would like to be: well, I would give an ear and an eye (not on the same side, preferably) to have the melodic and compositional ability of Conor Oberst. Conor is the father of my obsession for American folk, for a certain way of playing the guitar mixed with synths, mixed with a desperate, but very sweet voice. In short, there is folk and there is Conor Oberst: I don't know about you, but for me it is already the album I deeply needed to tell myself that summer is definitely over. But passion, that never dies.
Flash Advice Song: Trains still run on time
Maria Chiara Argirò
Closer
Indietronica
A young Italian woman who moves in the pop universe, maintaining a predilection for the rhythms and technicalities of jazz, experimenting with electronics, while maintaining the ability to generate melodies that are catchy and memorable: an excursion into synthetic territories heavily refers to indietronica, always maintaining a jazz taste for the oblique development of the most easy listening structures. The underground plot of Closer lies in the need to reduce the metropolitan distance, insert intimacy in an era of connection: a need steeped in impotence, perhaps even desperation, but which maintains a pinch of hope. With Closer Maria Chiara Algirò creates one of the undeservedly less visible pearls of the Italian panorama and it almost hurts that an album of this caliber does not correspond to a tour to match.
Flash Advice Song: September
Nala Sinephro
Endlessness
Jazz
This record builds its nature on the fluid boundaries between ambient and jazz music, centering around a recurring arpeggio that weaves through its ten tracks, all titled “Continuum”. The album’s seamlessness and intricate orchestration showcase Nala Sinephro's growth as a producer and arranger, while her ensemble of South London jazz collaborators adds fresh energy to the compositions. The project is very solid but also various: blending delicate harp, synths, and subtle string arrangements into an elegant, evolving sound. The result is a genre-defying record that invites deep listening, balancing vast complexity with serene beauty. Like a warm, welcoming carpet, waiting there for Autumn to come.
Flash Advice Song: Continuum 3
Il lungo addio
Adriatico
Darkwave
If Il Lungo Addio continues its exploration of the topos of the Romagna summer, this album marks a significant shift from previous works, introducing a dominant electronic and synth-driven darkwave sound, a departure from the intimacy and the pop-rock tones of previous albums. Despite the sonic change, the recurring theme of men wandering through the desolate microcosm of the Romagna Riviera remains, reverberating with the emotions of a Hopper painting. The lyrics transform into fragmented thoughts and slogans thrown into the void, almos reminescent of some Massimo Volume more obscure claims, blending percussive minimalism with krautrock rhythms. The album explores themes of death and desperation, while Italian cinema influences appear through a sample of Monica Vitti in Dove cadono tutti. Fabrizio Testa continues to establish himself as an outsider in the music scene, crafting an album that merges seaside atmospheres with a Nordic rigidity, rooted in the dark and compelling imagery of his distinctive poetic vision.
Flash Advice Song: Giugno luglio agosto nero
The album is still not on platform, but it is totally worth (and for free) to listen it on Bandcamp
Historical milestone
Every month, a fresh milestone from music history served up for you.
The Most Serene Republic
Underwater Cinematographer
Indie-pop
I admit, I love old albums that aren't great, but that exude personality. The Most Serene Republic were the first band to sign to Arts & Crafts, the label of Broken Social Scene until then. They brought a fresh and new energy to the label with its much more pop, overwhelming and "climatic" tendencies. Sure, their sound maintained some similarities with their label mates, but their debut revealed a more nerdy and literary soul, less rock, with the thin and high-pitched singing of singer Adrian Jewett that evokes an indie-pop atmosphere. The record has its flaws, of course: there are too many different ideas in the songs, leading to peaks of brilliance, but also some moments of confusion. However, tracks like "Where Cedar Nouns and Adverbs Walk" find a masterful focus, managing to create intensity thanks to the keyboards. Despite the occasional misstep, the energy and joviality of this debut album was, back in 2005, one of those "indie-pop gems" that I hold dear to my heart. And, since it was 2005 and we all thought the future of music was digital (and I was also poor) I have it on CD.
Flash Advice Song: Content was alays my favorite colour
