Concentric
Gatorbone, 2019
9/10
A real life romance, the married duo of Flagship Romance pair a rock’n’roll history with a jazz background, as Shawn Fisher and Jordyn Jackson create glowing harmonies in their indie-folk formula on this very articulate album.
“Crossroads” gets the album off to a graceful start with keys and soothing vocal harmonies that builds into a fuller, lush explosion of melody, and “(Love Is) Running Me Ragged” follows with playful acoustic guitars in the bright instrumentation.
Deeper tracks include the calm balladry of the title track that emits a powerful display of subdued beauty, and the contemplative pop friendly tension of “Chardonnay”, which could easily make the pair a household name.
Near the end, “Dorothy” puts the pretty vocals of Jackson on display in a folky-pop tune, and “This Land Was Your Land” highlights their warm vocal harmonies in an intimate setting as their take on the Guthrie classic turns a bit darker in scope. “His Town” ends the record strong with memorable Americana fun, again highlighting the duo’s strong chemistry.
An album with a little bit of everything, from pop to rock to soul, country and folk, there’s certainly a lot of thoughtful songcraft present on Concentric, and it easily warrants repeated listens.
Travels well with: The Lone Bellow- Walk Into A Storm; Shakey Graves- Can’t Wake Up