Flasher
Skim Milk
Domino
In 1977 Margaret Thatcher was poised to become Prime Minister, the Queen was celebrating her jubilee, and the Sex Pistols were singing “no future” in their anthem of disenchantment God Save the Queen. Forty years later Washington trio Flasher are singing the same lyric, but instead of bemoaning “no future”, they’re advocating it.
When explaining the logic behind Skim Milk, the band said, “Folks are always telling you to think of your future… But most folks don’t have the privilege to live outside the present. This kind of future tense, aspirational bullshit means being held hostage by a future that’s already abandoned you. We’d rather escape to something new and unknown.”
Flasher may have flipped this particular punk sentiment on its head, but sonically the band is still paying homage to those who paved the way. Quintessentially 80s elements reminiscent of a John Hughes soundtrack sit astride urgent drums, post punk guitars, and new wave vocals. The result is nostalgically familiar, and suddenly being adrift with “no future, no fate” doesn’t seem so bad after all.
SHANNON FOX
