Album Details

• Artist: Flypaper
• Album: Flypaper
• Label: Independent
• Year of Release: 2011
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: solitaryman on 2012-02-28

Flypaper are a young upstart trio from Michigan whose self-titled debut just recently began making the rounds. With a bit of marketing on smaller radio markets across the country, and a thick resume of gigs and the experience they brought, Flypaper is a very well produced and performed album. Their style could be summed up as alternative blues rock, but they vary in tone and texture enough to lay claim to a wide variety of influences from eary proto-rock, the days of Zeppelin and Hendrix and some of the blues revival of the 90's. It's all cultivated in one enjoyable, classy package.

Each member of the three-piece is, individually, a succesful musician who have taken similar yet varying paths that seem to have found a cohesive conclusion with Flypaper. Frontwoman Micaela Kingslight has a lifelong musical pedigree, born into the trade and early in discovering her gift for the guitar. Indeed it is her soulful, bluesly licks and riffage that drive much of the record forward, consistently tasteful and impressively original in comparison to my usual listening habits. Her voice, as I've read is often compared to Fiona Apple. While I can hear it, at times I can liken it more to Norah Jones, especially in her softer, more apprehensive moments. Bassist and band manager Joe Chamberlin has all the experience neccesary to handle both jobs. His sense of melody and groove keeps the rhythm section in sync with Micaela's expressive playing. Drummer Ashley Ickes has years of learning and teaching under her belt, and is often given a wide space in which to show off her chops. In theory and in practice, Flypaper are a sum of their parts, and have managed to reap all of their individual talents and in turn sow an album's worth of catchy, memorable tracks where none truly stand out amongst the rest. I've been hard pressed over a dozen or so listens to really call any track a highlight, but certain moments stick out. The fuzzed-out, southern-rock guitar runs on "Blackwater" are a big for instance. Also the Radiohead-esque "Circuitry" and some of Ashley's fierce fills stand out amongst the rest. "In My Room" is the track that most brings to mind Norah Jones, and where Micaela convinces me she has as much potential as a vocalist as a guitarist.

You're not likely to find a better collection of pure blues rock anywhere that Flypaper delivers. It has a touch of elegance, an obvious sense of confidence that only lifetimes of musical education can bring, and most importantly, the vital chemistry that can make or break any combination of musicians. For three musicians with so much to offer on their own, the collective known as Flypaper manages to make good on those promises and then some.  

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