The Flatliners
Gig Seeker Pro

The Flatliners

Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada | INDIE | AFM

Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada | INDIE | AFM
Band Rock

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"CD Review: The Great Awake (2007)"

"The Great Awake relies on every gravelly sung line, which is delivered with conviction and energy, pulling in the listener for a timespan that more often than not is likely to incite singing along, the words well-enunciated or not. And plenty of punctual, fist-pumping backups only add to the rousing efforts." - Punknews.org


"CD Review: The Great Awake (2007)"

"Once an underage suburban ska punk band, the Flatliners have blossomed into a startlingly great proper punk band." - Exclaim!


"CD Review: The Great Awake (2007)"

"The Flatliners’ socially conscious lyrics can get quite dark at times; they cover everything from deciphering their place in the world to remembering those who have passed on. This provides some depth to the album that you might not notice on the first listen, as the lyrics are not always easy to distinguish. That is not to say that The Flatliners do not have plenty of sing-along moments, such as in “Mother Teresa Chokeslams the World” where you can’t help but want to yell “We’re tired of waiting, tired of waiting” along with the rest of the band." - Absolutepunk.net


"100 Bands You Need To Know (2008)"

"Coming straight out of Toronto's suburban wasteland, these underage punks have been blowing their elders off the stage since they were 14 years old. Today, they're the youngest-ever band signed to Fat Wreck Chords, and their second full-length, the ambitious The Great Awake, is likely to be remembered as one of the strongest punk statements of 2007." - Alternative Press


"CD Review: Destroy to Create (2006)"

"Destroy to Create shows a young band full of energy and promise...If you are a fan of ska-punk in the vein of the Code or the Suicide Machines or even just aggressive pissed off punk, you will not be disappointed with this release."

-AlexPKeaton | Punknews.org | July 2006 - Punknews.org


"CD Review: Destroy to Create (2006)"

"The Flatliners may be just out of high school, but Destroy To Create is so tight and focused, we wouldn't be surprised if we saw them on the Warped Tour main stage a few years down the road."

-Alternative Press | February 2006 - Alternative Press


"CD Review: Destroy to Create (2005)"

"...The Flatliners at their age are ready to lead the way...Pushing extreme sound boundaries along with the bands notable tempo changes and propelling-paced vocals simply result in a never dull moment...If this musical assault continues to conquer the Canadian punk scene, The Flatliners will be more then just a prolific band from Toronto."

-Quentin Schroeder | Adapt Magazine | December 2005 - Adapt Magazine


"CD Review: Destroy to Create (2005)"

"...one of the best and most tightly disciplined hardcore albums of the year. Very highly recommended...Rating:4/5"

-Rick Anderson | All Music.com | December 2005 - All Music.com


"CD Review: Destroy to Create (2005)"

"For the record, The Flatliners Destroy To Create has spun me into a virtual euphoric haze ever since we first met this past summer; due in large part to the fact that it quite easily disproves the seemingly widespread and taken-for-granted accords that a) Ska-punk is dead, b) Canada's young are typically socially oblivious/apathetic, and c) I'm the only one who likes to pillage Once Upon A Time in Mexico for witty catchphrases' but even more so because it gives me chills every fucking time I listen to it. "

-Casper (Duff) Neurotic | Threeohsix.org | November 2005 - Threeohsix.org


"CD Review: Destroy to Create (2004)"

"An impressive collection of fast-paced ska-punk, Destroy To Create succeeds in creating a sound of its own in a genre crowded with clones. Heavy on the up-strokes but light on the silliness, most of the Flatliners material is rooted more in hardcore chants than ska sing-alongs. Chris Cresswell's vocals sound like they've been simmered in whisky and nicotine for the last decade of his life, but this mature sound, equally demonstrated by the rest of the band, betrays the members' relatively young age."

-Sam Sutherland | Exclaim! | December 2004 - Exclaim!


Discography

2009 | TBD (Fat Wreck Chords)
2007 | THE GREAT AWAKE (Fat Wreck Chords/Union 2112)
2005 | DESTROY TO CREATE (Stomp/Warner)
2003 | WHO SAID SKA'S DEAD (Split EP/Indie)
2002 | DEMO

Photos

Bio

"What do you do when doing what you love gets you nowhere?" asks the opening track on The Great Awake, the second full-length from these Toronto-based punks. The question, delivered with all the gravel-voiced ferocity of a hardened, worn-down clock puncher, betrays the success which has found the endlessly-touring quartet since the release of 2005's Destroy to Create (Stomp). Far from getting them nowhere, The Flatliners' five years of passionate melding of raging punk rock, aggressive ska, and balls-out rock 'n' roll has taken them across nine provinces, twenty-eight states, and two Warped Tours. They've shared stages with the likes of Bad Religion, The Loved Ones, Anti-Flag, No Use For A Name, and The Suicide Machines, and with a new American home on Fat Wreck Chords, they're just getting started.

The Great Awake is a shockingly mature record for a band who's oldest member tops out at twenty years old. Embracing the darkest aspects of their sound, The Flatliners have crafted a record that, without abandoning their ska-punk roots, sounds a lot more like mid-90s Gainesville than late 90s Orange County. Songs like "You Guys Want One Of These?" and "Hal Johnson Smokes Cigarettes" offer some of the record's catchiest melodies, all swathed in heavy levels of distortion and gritty vocal delivery. "This Respirator" marks the band's ska-reggae high-water mark, perfecting the lilting melodies and syncopated rhythms that most of their peers fail at replicating. Then there's the album-closer, "KHTDR"; seven minutes of epic punk-ska whose sonic evolution, moving from genre to genre, almost seems to parallel that of the band, whose own sound has moved into substantially more mature waters as they continue to define what, exactly, is The Flatliners sound. Out of school and hitting the road full-time, The Flatliners are truly doing what they love. Drawing as much on the ska-punk bounce of Operation Ivy as the raw rock 'n' roll of Leatherface, The Great Awake is guaranteed to find a home in hearts of any fan of fiery, sincere, and unforgiving punk rock.

Video Links:
This Respirator (2008) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdoBtYlZddA
Eulogy (2007) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0swGZXbW7I
Broken Bones (2006) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP4qCXLGwvQ
Fred's Got Slacks (2005) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dleB2PA1U-A