Clwb Ifor Bach, Fri 19 Nov
Flamingods are a five-piece band of multi-instrumentalists from Bahrain and Dubai, it says on the Clwb Ifor Bach website; but try as I liked I could only see four of them on the small downstairs stage, so one of us can’t count. On the other hand, the four band members on stage were undoubtedly confident and accomplished multi-instrumentalists, picking up new instruments mid-song, handing guitars over each other’s heads, swapping instruments, rotating around the stage from song to song like manic speed-daters.
Some of the instruments themselves are as exotic as their fusion of rhythms and sounds from around the world. At one point, a stringed instrument from Japan (I think) that looked like part of a keyboard broken off an ancient computer was brandished overhead like a trophy. What it sounded like was difficult to work out amidst the thunderous drums and furious guitar riffs, but its presence at the very least highlighted the infectious enthusiasm of the band for their unconventional music.
The songs themselves are hard to describe, referencing constantly-changing influences almost too quickly to keep track of. African, Arabic and Asian rhythms mix with conventional guitar-based rock riffs, songs switch into kabuki and psychedelia, wander off into electronica and even throw in a bit of that weird guitar-based bagpipe sound perfected by Big Country (remember them, kids?). Written down, it shouldn’t work; but played live it certainly does. By their own admission more of an on-line presence than a live act, the set started with a cheerfully shambolic feel, with feedback issues and a fair bit of fiddling with monitors; but as time went on, and the band swapped instruments less, things tightened up and built to a demented trance-like frenzy that had the crowd bouncing off the walls.
words MAT DAVIES