Album Review: Constant Image by Flasher

Rare are the times that anyone can parse through their spiraling doubts stacked against the modern world, let alone conceive a reply. The questions never cease: "Am I original? Is my identity all-consuming? What holds me back?" Yet Washington, DC trio Flasher surge with danceable dialogue on their full-length debut, a lightning-strike leap from the post-punk shadows of their first EP into full-color radio waves. As Emma Baker pinpoints patterns on the drums, and Daniel Saperstein cuts razor-straight bass lines, Constant Image can race just as fast as yr addled head— or at least Wire, like on "Who's Got Time?" But in this go-round, our eloquent protagonists split from their adrenaline-driven peers with their wickedly slick, New Wave-y style.

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You'd be forgiven for thinking that Washington, DC-based rock trio Flasher wrote an album of disillusioned songs surrounding America's political calamity. But their debut full-length Constant Image is so much more. The band masterfully produce politically charged tracks situated in tales of the everyday struggle of people living in America's political seat.   Veering slightly from their previous post-punk efforts, Flasher brought producer Nicolas Vernhes (Animal Collective, War on Drugs, Deerhunter) on board for this album. The outcome is ….

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In their two years of existence, Flasher have existed at the cross-section of what makes Washington, D.C. an exhilarating and terrifying place to create political art. They've recorded in the studio of Fugazi's Brendan Canty. Guitarist Taylor Mulitz was previously in the radical rock band Priests and continues to oversee its Sister Polygon label, which launched Downtown Boys andSnail Mail.

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Flasher connect ideas, both abstract and concrete, on Constant Image. It's with this implied tension that the Washington, DC trio operates, where every loose thread means to align their nervy compositional chops. There is a need to emphasize movement through its glinting, new-wave flashes, though, a more upbeat tone that enlivens its otherwise rhythmic discordance.

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Washington, D.C. post-punk trio Flasher are part of the Sister Polygon family, which has been integral to a scene based around the new wave of groups like Downtown Boys, Gauche, and Priests (who also run the label). That they feature former Priests bassist turned guitarist/singer Taylor Mulitz, who makes up one-third of the group with Emma Baker on drums and Daniel Saperstein on bass, suggests they'll seamlessly slide into D.C.'s punk revival.

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