Kevin Bronson on May 31st, 2018

0

When L.A. ensemble Black Flamingo evaporated in 2013 — as if they’d been left out in sun too long — there were moans and groans from the Echo Park scene in which they’d become favorites. In a three-year lifespan, the band (Christopher Vick, Ammo Bankoff, Kimi Recor, Mareesa Stertz, Poul Johansen and Alex Posell) had three releases of a strain of echo-laden dream-pop they winkingly called “tropical goth.”

Then Stertz and Johansen departed to pursue other avenues and the other principals drifted into other projects as well. Notably, Recor now fronts Draemings (in which Vick plays guitar), Bankoff went even gothier with her band Brass Box and both were involved in founding the Play Like a Girl community.

As their other projects blossomed, Recor and Bankoff were always gracious when friends mentioned their fondness for Black Flamingo and pointed out the preponderance of similarly dark dream-pop that had materialized on the landscape in recent years. They were coy about whether Black Flamingo would be heard from again. And as it turns out, they will.

Black Flamingo’s new EP “Living Ghost” will be released on June 28 (the full moon, they point out). The EP is comprised of new songs written and recorded in 2014 by the lineup of Recor, Vick, Bankoff and George Cochrane. The release will be followed by a reunion show July 13 at the Echo.

The eyeliner-melting single “Black Tide” rises from its thwapping percussion like heat waves from freshly laid asphalt, shoegazing in the summer sun.

||| Stream: The premiere of “Black Tide”

Buzz Bands LA spoke with Recor and Bankoff about the new EP and the reunion:

Buzz Bands LA: From an outsider’s point of view, it seemed Black Flamingo had a good thing going. What do you remember about that time, and do you wish anything had happened differently?

Bankoff: We were just having fun, not really trying to create anything specific. We had our little commune and people just caught on. I think the best part about the project is that we put out so much music in such a short amount of time. I think it was three albums in less than three years, and our musicianship excelled quickly.

Recor: When we disbanded, we had all been living together and making music together for two years. We were so involved with one another on so many levels, that little things started to really crack the glass. I think we needed time away from one another to really appreciate each other and our collaborations.

I don’t have any regrets about Black Flamingo. We had to let it go for a while so that we could grow as musicians and people. When we started Black Flamingo, I didn’t know how to play guitar. I learned how to produce and play my instruments because of the band. Black Flamingo will always be our family. We moved to LA together with basically nothing, and created our own world, and I’m so grateful for that.

There’s so much music fitting under the “goth” genre now — much more than in 2010. Does it seem that way to you?

Recor: Over the years I’ve definitely heard music that would have fit super well with what we were doing, but I think nowadays we’re all just borrowing and incorporating existing things anyways and making them our own.

Bankoff: We’ve seen bands pop up here and there that we feel like we may have paved the way for, but it’s all evolution. It’s kind of silly because Black Flamingo’s claim to fame “tropical goth” started out as a fitting joke. Being in Los Angeles and claiming to be goth was funny to us. Personally, I had always resonated with punk more than goth, but as I got older I became more interested in darker world music that touched on the goth culture without even realizing it.

Now that this “goth” thing is trending it’s even more hysterical and actually relevant. So many goth-pop stars rising from the dead these days, but when you listen to the music it’s still the same boring pop that people have been making for years, just add in some makeup and black clothes and you’ve suddenly created a new genre. When goth happened in the ’80s, it wasn’t even called goth. It was just a subculture. Now everyone walks around calling themselves witches and goth. I’d say resurrecting Black Flamingo is right on time.”

So the EP consists of songs you guys made in 2014?

Bankoff: Yes, I had them mixed this year by James Buckey of Family of the Year, who were there since the beginning of Black Flamingo. We used to have a little crew going when Grouplove lived in our back house in Frogtown and FOTY used to come over and we’d play music and have bonfires in the backyard. … Anyway, then Luke Hannah from Spaceland pushed for a reunion show.

Recor: It’s rad that five years later, we can come back together and bring a whole new perspective to writing together and playing shows together.

Do you think a lot of old friends will be scrambling to buy eyeliner?

Recor: The eyeliner industry will see a huge resurgence — as will black maternity wear.”

||| Live: Black Flamingo play the Echo on July 13. Tickets.

||| Previously: “Dark Angel,” “Haunted House,” Ears Wide Open