With an ability to slip the boundaries of the real world and enter new dimensions through their music, Flunk present their latest and final album Take Me Places. Familiar yet surreal in the same breath, the 11 tracks are soaked in the soft hues of dusk, dawn and the intervening stillness that sits between. Whether it’s ethereal downtempo, immersive electronica, trip hop undertones or folk leanings, Flunk have crafted their finest work to date in this LP. A bittersweet swansong, as the band will dissolve back into the ether that their music inhabits following a run of live shows this spring and summer.
Consisting of producer Ulf Nygaard, guitarist Jo Bakke, vocalist Anja Øyen Vister, and bassist Ole Kristian Wetten, the veteran Norwegian quartet is a band that has stayed true to its roots since the very beginning. Part of the Beatservice Records family since the early ’00s, their distinctive amalgamation of folk, downtempo and indie rock has enamoured listeners the world over. Depth, emotion and beauty permeate their productions and Take Me Places is the perfect example of this.
The album begins in signature storytelling fashion with ‘Capitalism’, a brooding journey through the underworld, interspersed with arresting vocal samples and haunting harmonies. It rolls symbolically into ‘Trapdoor’, pulsating through swirls of synth-laden deepness, crossing the boundaries between the ethereal and electronic realms.
That celestial touch is a thread that ties together all of Flunk’s work, regardless of the path they take or the genre they explore. ‘Climbing Kilimanjaro’ fills the air with dust-flecked sonics, as sweeping strings and modulating synths glisten in the hazy sunlight. Elsewhere, listeners are led on an absorbing eyes-closed journeys through the melancholy, Scandinavian sonic magic of ‘Noise’ and the powerful, yearning, off-world ‘I Think I Like You’.
On the album you’ll also find two breathtaking covers. First, Flunk takes Massive Attack’s classic and stamps their own distinctive mark on it. A sea of slow-motion synthesisers, sustained sliding guitars and reclining beats. Then, Nick Murphy aka Chet Faker’s spellbinding song ‘Message You At Midnight’ reaches new stunning heights in Flunk’s own signature way. Its delicate strings ebb and flow underneath Anja Øyen Vister’s captivating vocals.
Drawing Take Me Places to its conclusion, the minimalistic ‘Omens’ sees the deftness of Bakke’s acoustic guitar in perfect synergy with Vister’s dreamlike voice. It’s a poignant note to signal the final stop in their long-standing career. Demystifying the mystical, bringing a human touch and connection to the ethereal depths below, Flunk have spent the last 25 years considerately undertaking this albums namesake. A lifetime legacy of taking listeners to faraway worlds and places that will forever resonate deep within.
