Brooklyn’s Flagland released their simultaneously scraggly and sensitive Father/Daughter LP Love Hard over a year ago, and we haven’t heard a new song from the band since. I, however, have had the distinct pleasure of seeing Flagland play several times in the months since that record came out and can assure any non-believers that their new record on the horizon is fated to be great. “Awesome Song, Kerry Jan” is the A-Side of a split 7″ that Flagland will release with Washer, another local punk band that’s regularly billed alongside Flagland as well as their noisy brethren Big Ups. The 7″ the last in a series of splits that all three bands have released together in what has been called the ECB&B Trilogy.

It would be a mistake to say that Flagland don’t take themselves seriously. Any young band approaching the endlessly challenging task of trying to make it in a city overflowing with talent has to take themselves immensely seriously. Still, Flagland do a tremendous job hacking away at creeping sense of self-importance. Lead singer and lyricist Kerry Kallberg strips down for every performance, and wearing only a pair of boxer briefs and sneakers, he will proceed to tell the audience that his inspiration for an over 10-minute track was… The Lord Of The Rings. So it’s fitting that Flagland’s first single in over a year is essentially a song about the creative cycle. “Awesome Song, Kerry Jan” is a song about a song, and Kallberg had the following to say about writing it:

This song is about itself. I talk about the process of songwriting and getting ideas from either the past or your own mind. Then there’s another process of bringing it to the band and rehearsing until finally you get to perform your song for people. It’s such a valley between thought and expression that you wonder if, in the end, anything gets communicated at all.

This might be one of Kallberg’s best-penned songs to date. Flagland and Washer will go on a short tour starting at the end of the week. Check out dates and the 7″ tracklist plus listen to “Awesome Song, Kerry Jan” below.

Tracklist:
01 Flagland – “Awesome Song, Kerry Jan”
02 Flagland – “Lay Down With Me And Die”
03 Washer – “Clid”
04 Washer – “Joe”

Flagland & Washer tour dates:

4/03 Brooklyn, NY @ Aviv w/ Vulture Shit, Show Me The Body *
4/25 Brooklyn, NY @ Palisades’ 1-year anniversary w/ Gradients, Palm
5/01 Boston, MA *
5/02 Winooski, VT @ Waking Windows (Friends + Family stage) *
5/05 Brooklyn, NY @ Shea Stadium (Record Release) w/ Vulture Shit, Big Ups
5/07 Philadelphia, PA @ The Nest w/ Left & Right, The Spirit of the Beehive, Walking Distance
5/08 Baltimore, MD
5/09 Washington DC @ The Dougout w/ Thee Lolitas
5/10 New Brunswick, NJ
* Flagland only

The Washer/Flagland split 7″ is out 5/5 via Exploding in Sound and ECB&B. You can preorder it here.