A look at the cover for “Elusive Times” is to understand Flare Voyant to a large extent. The London-based crew look like they’ve been transported here from somewhere in the late 1960s on a mission to save something or other.
That is a feeling underlined by the opening song too. The title track is groove laden, a hard rocker. Not, in fairness, a million miles from the type of stuff Jet used to do midway through the last decade.
And, there is a suggestion that “Elusive Times” – the EP and not just the song – is designed to move FV into harder edged areas than their other two EP’s did.
However, they’ve always done their own thing to a large extent – you don’t, after all get praise from the likes of Chris Kimsey (the Rolling Stones producer who worked on their early demos) or Jimmy Page (who is a big fan and has been seen at their gigs) if you don’t stand out from the crowd – so there’s always a bit of jazz noodling ready at a moments notice, some prog, or something downright funky lurking to strut it’s stuff.
“Nimby”, written about venues closing down, is all three all at once, as four stringer Grisha Grigory enjoys himself, and “Pauls Funky Cab” sees the other member of the rhythm section, drummer Anthony Paine right to the fore.
Indeed, there is some top level musicianship here, a real feeling that this is a band who could have done anything it chose to. Rod Bourganos can kick out a mean riff, and singer Thomas Baigneres is versatile.
It is tempting to call them a British Rival Sons, if you like, and listening to “Hermitage”, the more blues based thing that they end the EP with, you feel there might be more to come.
“Elusive Times” is the sound, of a band who is gradually finding its sound and its identity. And indeed, when they released the “Nimby” single, the band were vocal about how much they wanted to play the song live.
You feel they might be the type of band that really shines on stage too.
Rating 7/10
