Album Review: The Fleshtones- Wheel Of Talent

The Fleshtones

Wheel Of Talent

**1/2 out of *****

New York City garage rocking The Fleshtones are still putting out tunes as they enter their 5th decade as a group. The tight, 13 tracked Wheel Of Talent has some retro looking efforts that recall the groups heyday as well as goofy jingles and even an unexpected ode about Facebook.

The disk opens with the experimental “Available” that plucks orchestral strings and laments about being single; the title is actually a status update! The band mines more familiar terrain on “It Is As It Was” and “Remember The Ramones” which go back to the groups beginning and their roots in the NYC downtown punk scene, name checking and storytelling before a musical ode to the fellow Queens crew.    

“Roofarama” is silly yet alarmingly catchy as an ode to hooking up on NYC rooftops decorated with high pitched “roof” chants and a blazing wah-wah guitar. The band has a knack for worming their way into your ear, “The Right Girl”, “For A Smile” and the pumping “Hipster Heaven” all spend more time than expected bouncing around the brain. “Stranger In My House” goes overboard and the Spanish “Veo La Luz” feels clunky but the bands missteps are slight as the songs still manage to breeze past, never sticking around longer than 3 minutes.

A track like “What I’ve Done Before” mixes in a bit of theatrics and an Elvis flair while “How To Say Good Bye” brings back the strings spicing up the retro rock in enjoyable ways. Wheel Of Talent’s closing “Tear For Tear” shows this style of rock is timeless as The Fleshtones keep pumping out their catchy tunes.
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