Music

Flagship Romance – Scare Yourself

Most of Vodka’s regular readers know that video reviews are often written a month or so in advance of the posting and saved in the queue with a specific publish date. That isn’t true this time around. When I heard that Flagship Romance was playing a house concert near me on a Tuesday evening, I held up writing this review that I had scheduled originally for the first week in September. Now that I’ve been to that house concert, I’m ready not only to write the review but to bump the post that was already prepped for this space today and put this one in its place. 

If you’ve been following along, you know that Vodka has been tailing Flagship Romance almost since the duo’s inception back in 2013. If not, here is a look back at those earlier posts:

Treason –  March 2013

Hit The Ground – August 2013

Dandelion – June 2015

As I sat and watched the house concert this Tuesday evening, I marveled at a few things. First, Shawn Fisher’s guitar work is amazing. It isn’t just that the guitar is an extension of himself-that is evident-but he feels the music and can adjust dynamically on a dime. That is true of both Shawn and Jordyn Jackson’s vocals as well. It’s as if they have a mixing board in their brains. Either of them can shift from lead vocal to full-on perfectly blended harmony with the voice levels exactly even in an instant. It’s like watching a well-oiled musical machine. 

If an event was ever a testament to a couple, this one was. From their interaction with the crowd to their interaction with each other, they are truly a positive force in the world. They are natural and easy with each other and so obviously head over heels in love. If something were to happen to them as a couple, I can almost guarantee you that neither of them would be as good musically as they are as a team. Luckily, I don’t see that ever happening. 

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Scare Yourself (seen/heard here) is just one example of the phenomenal musicianship that is represented on the 12 tracks that make up Tales From The Self-Help Section (August 2017). Each one has a story to tell, from being your own worst enemy (Nemesis) to learning to shun negativity (Buddha’s Backyard) there are life lessons everywhere and the two find them where they can and shine a light on them for all to see.

So check the tour schedule for Flagship Romance on their website and get out to one of these backyard events, or head over to their bandcamp.com site and pick up any or all of their digital music. Want physical CDs or Vinyl? No problem. The website store has those options for you. Flagship Romance is the real deal. Real romance, real music, real positive. Go get an infusion!