For years Charlotte based band Campbell was on again off again, constantly modifying their sound and increasing the complexity of their live show. Now, Campbell is gone and Flagship has filled their void. Created from the ashes of Campbell, members merged with Charlotte solo artist Drake Margolnick to form Flagship.
Their first release titled Blackbush-EP came out May 8, 2012, but they seem to already be in the mainstream fast track. They are currently signed to Bright Antenna record label out of Oakland, which is a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. WMG has power and a network of taste-makers that include blogs and other media outlets that they reach out to for coverage. Flagship is also being booked by Paradigm, so touring and guarantees are taken care of. Next thing we know they’ll be coupled with an opening slot on one of the agency’s many national bands. Add in a management team and a major player in the publicity world, Flagship has a crew working behind them that could loft them to a national level within the next couple of months.
Now that you see that they seem to be on a track to national relevance, let’s chat about their sound and their EP. The Blackbush EP is dark and ethereal. Beautiful layers of instrumentation with Margolnick’s smooth bassy voice sitting on top. Their sound edges on popular bands of today like We are Augustines and Gaslight Anthem with less grit to the vocals and sans the working class Americana touch. The EP is theatrical, with swelling emotional sections, that are both beautiful and tasteful. Some of the best music of its’ type that I’ve heard come out of this area in a long while.
