Southern Progress by Flummox

The last couple weeks have been unexpectedly huge for prog rock, as the British scene continues to produce delicate, modest, subtle neoclassical albums in the prog tradition. However, if you’d rather see an American band take those same influences and rip modesty to shreds, you need to check out Flummox and their new record Southern Progress. As the title suggests, Flummox returns to familiar themes of political adversity that arises from growing up queer in Tennessee, using their intense, theatrical style to place us in the pews next to them as the millionaire megachurch pastor damns us to hell. Influences from death metal, black metal, jazz, country, and hair metal fling splotches of brilliant color all over these extended, progressive compositions, harnessing the power of unbelievably talented musicianship to alternately counter and support one another on a series of wildly impressive melodic runs. Peeling back these grander macro political statements, we find a tender personality with intimate personal struggles, and, armed with this empathy and an explosive personality, we return to battle energized, dedicated, and extravagant.