Los Disidentes Del Sucio Motel vs. Flashfalcon - (2011) East Side Story

What we get here are two French bands.  LDDSM leaning more towards the stoner side of things, and that is where we start off.   The Ones open up side one of this split record, and what an opening it is.  Feedback feeding into nice fuzz toned riff.  They come at you hard and fast and I definitely can see this being a song to open their shows with.   High energy singing, with the band providing the soundtrack to his high speed full throttle vocals.  They keep things moving excitingly throughout the song, with a perfectly timed breakdown towards the end, that slows the song down an inch, before speeding to the finish.  No better ways to start a record, than to grab the listener, sit him down, and let him enjoy the ride.

Lucha Libre follows next, with a slightly slower pace, but certainly no less exciting tempo.  Nice vocals, with pretty damn good harmonies (considering most stoner bands can’t pull this off).  Again a nice warm fuzzy tone to the music, bass and drums playing along nicely, keeping the pace from getting too hectic.  LDDSM certainly sound like a band that has rehearsed together for a while, as they are quite tight.   Midway through Lucha Libre we get another nice breakdown, with some over the top wrestling vocals, which actually suite the song and the moment perfectly.  What can I say; I’m a sucker for breakdowns, wrestling and good music.   A pretty good one, two punch to open up the show.

Eternal Lonesome Boy is a cover song from the other band on this split Flashfalcon.  Although I have not heard Flashfalcons version, it seems like LDDSM have added some nice fuzz to what I take is a more rock n’ roll type of song, ala 90s rock.  Certainly does not sound bad and LDDSM have added nice little twists within the song, not only with the guitar tones, but the overall musicianship throughout it.   The singer certainly gives the song a nice radio feel, which may be what the original was shooting for.  LDDSM give it a nice stoner touch.  And we all know that can’t be bad.

We end with Persia, which is by far the best song on here, and the first two were very solid.  Persia again has that nice warm fuzz that I so enjoy, but also some nice lead guitar mixed throughout, and a solid bass line.  It hits you straight in the face.  Once more the vocalist is spot on, and the harmonies are excellent.   Midway through Persia, we come to a hugely unexpected riff fest, pure sweetness, like a touch of honey on ones tongue, you just can’t help but smile.  A fantastic song to end their side of the split.  I can honestly say this is one of my fav. songs I have heard lately.

Riding with the Mavericks ignites Flashfalcons attitude to music.  Pure hard rock n’ roll.  It brings back the memories of hearing good old rock songs we all used to appreciate and hear all the time, while it has a slight hardcore feel to it, I certainly could see this on the radio. I could have sworn I would have seen a band like this on the old Warp Tours, alongside Rancid etc… 

There is no letting up with the second song, Low Life.  It comes at you fast and hard.  Again I get the feeling that this should be very popular with the kids, its slight hardcore feel is a perfect sound for today’s lost youth.  A band & a song like this should be the type of music that could easily help rock make a resurgence that it so badly needs. A very nice high energy number.

Sir Dany Jack follows, and again like the third song on LDDSMs side, it is a cover of said band.   It definitely has been re-worked into a rock n’ roll song that Flasfalcon has come to be known for on this split (although I have not heard LDDSMs version).   There is no telling with its fast paced riffs, manic singing and outright blast from the band, that they have borrowed and taken this song and made it their own.

Numb is the ending number for Flashfalcon.  Another in your face number, however melodic enough to not sound repetitive, it has some nice harmonies that again give it a nice hardcore or dare I say punk touch to this song.   This is what bands used to sound like in the 90s, when they actually had balls, and did not succumb to the music industries poseur like feel for music and appearance of the music we hear today.

This is a pretty darn good record.   As I am a fan of the fuzz, I really enjoyed LDDSM, and especially Persia.  If they were to make more songs like that, this band would become pretty big in the stoner scene not only in Europe, but the scene that still exists in North America.  I look forward to bigger & better things from these guys.   They seem to have the drive and want to succeed.  Flashfalcon caught me off guard as I have not really listened to a rock band like them in a while.  They certainly brought back memories of the early 90s going to the Warped Tour and seeing all these rock/punk/melodic hardcore bands.   Perhaps they can start resurgence again, and have the kids get back into some REAL rock music.  The Split is only available on record at the moment.  With that being said, this should appeal to any & every person who enjoys stoner or rock music and would be a perfect record for your collection.

~Will Bissonette