Oh dear. Usually the Norwegian label Beatservice has good bands, but Flunk and their debut American release on Guidance, For Sleepyheads Only, don’t quite make the cut. Their cover of New Order’s “Blue Monday” feels lackluster, the female vocals wavy and weak. The male vocals on “Miss World” don’t offer much of an improvement. Although “See Through You” matches the vocals to the music better, the instrumentals, like “Sunday People (Don’t Bang the Drum)” are stronger -- but not by much. The album as a whole suffers from watered-down trip-hop syndrome. It might be pleasant to listen to overall, it really doesn’t make any impression whatsoever.
Oh dear. Usually the Norwegian label Beatservice has good bands, but Flunk and their debut American release on Guidance, For Sleepyheads Only, don’t quite make the cut. Their cover of New Order’s “Blue Monday” feels lackluster, the female vocals wavy and weak. The male vocals on “Miss World” don’t offer much of an improvement. Although “See Through You” matches the vocals to the music better, the instrumentals, like “Sunday People (Don’t Bang the Drum)” are stronger -- but not by much. The album as a whole suffers from watered-down trip-hop syndrome. It might be pleasant to listen to overall, it really doesn’t make any impression whatsoever.