I first heard Lady Flash at a recent live event in Osaka, the place they (and now I) call home. In a tiny venue decorated in balloons and selling cans of Budweiser for 300 yen a pop. they were the first act to take the narrow stage. Their set moved from so-so indie pop to breakneck rock reminiscent of The Dismemberment Plan if Travis Morrison screamed a heck of a lot more. It was this latter sound that captured Lady Flash at their best, a manic machine working in overdrive, the lead singer/guitarist sometimes slipping into trance-spasms that seemed ready to send him into the floor. It was a good set, one that showed a group with some good tunes and solid potential if they embraced the spazzier side a bit more.
Writing about a small live show might seem like I’m just trying to say “neener neener I can go to shows in Osaka now” but I focus on it because the Lady Flash live experience really did strike me as promising, whereas the smattering of recording available online aren’t quite as inspiring. The exception is the excellent “Young, Young, Young,” which hits on everything Lady Flash can do well, mainly bugging out over surprisingly tight sounds. Listen to that one below.
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/16820033″]