Berlin’s The Flavians bask in post-party revelry and serendipitous romance on their dreamy new single “Ace of Base,” a sweet and soulful dose of musical sunshine ready to cure even the worst of hangovers.
for fans of Mt. Joy, The Beatles, The Head and the Heart
Stream: “Ace of Base” – The Flavians
It’s the kind of love story you’d expect to read about in some old rock n’ roll legend’s tell-all memoirs: Waking up after a three-day bender without a clue as to where you are or how you got there, next to some beautiful stranger who wants you, and badly.
So what are The Flavians doing singing this song?
Just kidding!
The Berlin band bask in post-party revelry and serendipitous romance on their dreamy new single “Ace of Base,” a sweet and soulful dose of musical sunshine ready to cure even the worst of hangovers.
Waking up in a haze,
I’m wearing shit-stained undies
hearing ace of base on repeat,
how did I fall this deep?
I’m in an altered state,
where nothing makes sense
and sense makes nothing to me,
that’s where she walks in, saying:
Come a little closer I need heat
Come a little closer I need heat
Fans of spirited, psych-tinged rock and ’60s-’70s pop will easily fall in love The Flavians’ timeless, classic sound.
Released January 22 via AWAL, “Ace of Base” arrives at the top of 2021 to usher in a new and exciting year for Atwood artist-to-watch The Flavians, who earned said title with their extraordinary debut album Ordinary People in an Ordinary World – itself released just over a year ago on January 31st. Described by Atwood Magazine as “a fresh breath of buoyant, down-to-earth music that will bring a smile to your face and a warmth to your soul,” Ordinary People… introduced the colorful and sweet sounds of Sweden’s Joakim Jägerhult (drums) and Liam Blomqvist (vocals & guitar), Czech Republic’s Anna Vaverková (vocals & keys), and Britain’s Thomas Wills (vocals & bass) – who together have formed one of the most promising indie rock bands their side of the Atlantic.
The Flavians are something of a classic rock lover’s dream come true: A 2020s band mixing modern techniques with “classical” influences, blending folk, ’60s pop, psychedelic, and rock elements into a colorful and distinguished sonic palette. In many ways, “Ace of Base” picks up where Ordinary People… left off, presenting The Flavians in high spirits with an effervescent injection of charismatic, good natured melodies and sounds.
It sounds cliché, but The Flavians are cool. Few bands can make this classic sound feel fresh or new – and “Ace of Base” is downright invigorating.
Who else can pull off the soaring chorus line, “Come a little closer, I need heat,” with the kind of dazzling gusto and seductive warmth that Liam Blomqvist so effortlessly embodies? The Flavians carve out a carefree space in which to bustle and groove; all are welcome to the revel to their heart’s content.
You must be out of your mind,
bat-shit crazy and most probably blind,
I’m a music man, don’t waste your time.
I can’t remember last night,
like a blind mans orgy
I was gonna have to feel things out,
guess that’s just life.
Without going into too many details, The Flavians create a whole world of wonder. They capture a fantastical story we can all imagine without having been there to bear witness; and therein lies the brilliance of good songwriting.
If “Ace of Base” sounds as much like the end of one story as it does the beginning of another, that rings especially true for the band who wrote it: This release heralds the start of a new chapter. “After many weeks renovating our studio and spending hours sanding, painting, and hammering, one of the first ideas that we jammed together in our new space came to be the basis of ‘Ace of Base,'” The Flavians tell Atwood Magazine. “After a two-chord guitar loop for the verse, the bass appeared, a shuffle on the drums was laid down and, the piano seemed to slot right in. It all seemed to fall into being and eventually became this dilapidated circus of a song.”
She says:
Come a little closer I need heat,
Come a little closer I need heat,
Come a little closer, come a little closer I need heat.
We’re still waiting to hear exactly how this “dilapidated circus of a song”‘s story came about, but in a way, it doesn’t really matter: Now that it’s out, we have it in our lives, and that’s the important thing. Hence whether you, too, plan on partying hard this Friday night (and perhaps making someone’s acquaintance in the process), or whether you just like catchy, sunny pop songs, “Ace of Base” promises to dazzle and delight.
Mixed by Robbie Moore of Impression Studios, Berlin (Florence & the Machine, Little Simz) and mastered by Rupert Clervaux, London, The Flavians’ tune arrives as the lead single off a forthcoming new EP, set for release this June. Stay tuned for more from this exciting artist to watch in the very new future, and get lost in the star-crossed dreams of “Ace of Base” below!
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Stream: “Ace of Base” – The Flavians
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? © Tobias Humble
Ordinary People in an Ordinary World
an album by The Flavians
