Flash Forward’s fifth full-length album, Endings = Beginnings (Uncle M Music), is filled with rock-lover diversity. From heartfelt emotion, angsty guitar riffs, eighties-synths, to catchy singalong anthems, danceable beats, instrumental tracks, and heavy rock drums, Flash Forward does not shy away from genre blending.
The album kicks off and lures in listeners with a synthy acapella track, reminiscent of Imogen Heap’s ‘Hide and Seek’. The lyrics “Tell me, how does it feel in paradise” sink in with sorrowful harmonies, as it slides into ‘Young Blood’, which builds and erupts to a crunchy, powerful chorus that begs to be shouted.
Arguably the heaviest song on the album, ‘Bloodshot Eyes’ keeps the satisfyingly crunchy guitars and charging drumbeat going, and a disgusted curled lip emerges with the lyrics “I do believe/You make me feel/You make me feel/Sick, sick, sick/I still believe/You make me feel/You make me feel/Sick sick sick,” while ‘Endings’ slows everything down and eases listeners into the first semi-lo-fi instrumental track of the album.
The jarring switch from the calm instrumental track to the crash of drums slams the listener into desperation. ‘Drowning Underwater’ blends mournful guitar riffs with equally desolate lyrics, but the pain is driven home by vocalist Nico Schiesewitz of metalcore band Breathe Atlantis. Nico offers his unclean vocals to ground the feelings of helplessness and pleading within the track, which gives a nod to the genre familiars You Me At Six’s track with Oli Sykes, ‘Bite My Tongue’.
Erring more towards club rock, ‘Over You’ builds slowly and introduces a pulsing and danceable synth beat before the guitars and drums flesh out the track. Bethany Curtis, frontwoman of rock band December Falls, aids with the call and echo, and showcases the dual reality of heartbreak and longing with her vocal cries and harmonies.
Things flashback a few decades as the upbeat, jump-around-the-living room track ‘Out of Love’ pays homage to the dominating music style of the eightie. Dance-pop synth and gated reverb drumming smother this track, while the lyrics completely juxtapose the feel of the song. The chorus bleeds with misunderstanding and heartbreak: “I might be broken inside but I’m still trying to get this right/Call it farewell cause I have to live without you/I know I can’t slip inside your mind/And I can’t turn back time/I wish you well… We’re out of love.”
‘Cotton Candy Clouds’ follows; a mellow rock ballad about longing and nostalgia. It effortlessly bridges the transition to ‘Criminals’ which takes on the darker tones of frustration and regret. ‘Saviour’ slows things down but warms up to a sensual simmer – it’s a power anthem in dedication to one’s protector and constant in their life. As it fades out, piano notes chime in as ‘Beginnings’ plays, the second instrumental track of the album. Reverberated guitar carries the tune, and a beat fills it out, much like its sister track, ‘Endings’
Closing out Endings = Beginnings, ‘Heartclash’ and ‘No Use’ continue with the overall album theme of lost love, shortcomings, heartbreak, reverie, and found love, all swathed with soft rock tones.
Buy the album here:
https://bfan.link/endings-beginnings
7 / 10
JESSIE FRARY