It combines rock, punk, soul, and psychedelia and launches it straight into deep space, or rather, deep into the fractured mind of a doomed cyborg. It’s a sci-fi concept narrative. To get this satisfying classic rock and psych-punk sound, the band hit the studio with renowned producer Beau Sorenson.
A standout anchor for this album is the track "Evaporate." Taking the album's overarching concept, this song tracks the cyborg protagonist through alternate dimensions while tackling rampant technology and civilizational collapse.
It challenges the rulebook, with screeching, erratic guitar lines and whirring synthesisers mimicking a mainframe melting down. The vocals have a dark, theatrical performance before everything gets sucked into a long, experimental fade-out of distorted sci-fi noise.
The heavy lifting for The Flavor That Kills is a highly collaborative effort,
with almost every member pulling double or triple duty to construct their
idea.
Frontman Ryan Corcoran handles lead vocals, guitar and piano,
while the rest of the unit builds out the instrumental textures. Educational
Davis handles both guitars and synths, a multi-instrumental approach shared by
bassist Christian Burnson, who also contributes backing vocals and synths.