“I think “punk” is an overused word”, said Adam Ant, in the midst of “B-Side Baby”, chastising his girlfriend’s preference for the wilfully obscure. He may have been right. Flies On You overuse it a lot.
Doug and Andy, who together comprise Flies On You, decided to form a band in mid-2011. They planned a punk rock combo: crude, demented songs, nothing over two minutes long. Pug Ugly. (This name was discarded. “Too close for comfort”, mused Doug, brushing a tear from his eye. You can understand their reluctance to appear in band photos.)
It soon became apparent that their common ground goes far beyond The Distillers, No Means No and an agreement that Jean Jacques Burnel’s bass sound is just “the best”… Yugoslav indie, Belgian synth-punk, 60s chanteuses, Big Youth; here they found improbable plunder for their musical endeavours, but also discovered those shared peccadilloes that help to make a marriage work. Doug’s joy at finding Sweden’s answer to Thrilled Skinny is matched by Andy’s enthusiasm for discovering a Japanese Man Or Astroman? Flies On You are the “b-side babies” of whom Adam wisely spoke. They merely tolerate the anaemic epithet “DIY post-punk” as a descriptor of their oeuvre. Needs must, etc.