One wouldn’t expect the front man of self-defined "panic rock" band Flagland (a punky trio whose latest record was released in 2017) to drop a mostly instrumental record that’s as delicate and well orchestrated as Dan Francia’s Come Back to Life (streaming below). Released by Explolding in Sound early in 2019, the album blends an overall understated vibe with a playful, collaborative approach, consisting in several guest appearences by noteworthy local artists like The Feelies, Speedy Ortiz, Sharkmuffin, Ovlov, Field Mouse, gobbinjr and Titus Andronicus – all accurately reported in the album’s Bandcamp page. Each track sounds like a humble experiment in sound exploration not necessarily aiming at forging a unified style, but succeeding at it nonetheless, creating a sound in part reminiscent of a less sample-heavy Beta Band. Those rare times when Dan’s voice comes into the picture ("Come Back to Life," "No Matter What"), his gentle bedroom melodies add an extra relatable element to the record, and in the titletrack‘s chorus ("Come back to life, you can do anything") seem to offer the clue through which this record should be interpreted: a statement of the freedom granted by life.
