Still Flyin'

Just like in his previous group, Masters of the Hemisphere, Sean Rawls has taken a while to find his stride as the leader of Still Flyin'. Back in the band's early days, their live show consisted of 15 people onstage and they played reggae-tinged pop, but thankfully they have settled into a more satisfying, '80s-inspired groove on album number two, On A Bedroom Wall. The best moments are the ones awash with sweeping waves of atmospheric synths, leaning heavily towards New Order and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, making them worthy successors to the much-missed My Favorite, when it comes to retro-pop. But for every thing of beauty, like "Camouflage Detection," there's a misstep such as "Cleat Talking" that kills their momentum. It makes for a frustrating album that manages to both thrill and disappoint in equal measure, which suggests that with some trimming, this could have been an incredible EP.