If you’re into indie rock and you haven’t heard of flipturn, no doubt you soon will. Trust me. With over 80 million streams on Spotify alone, it’s incredibly clear that this powerful five piece is about to step into the spotlight. I had the opportunity to see flipturn perform at The Charleston Pour House Friday March 17th, on the second leg of their almost completely sold out Shadowglow tour. Having become a big fan of their first studio released album, 2022’s Shadowglow, I jumped at the chance to see the group perform. And I can say with certainty that you should see this act while you can, it will not be long before they are playing much larger venues. Simply because they’ll need the seating. Charleston’s Pour House was stuffed wall to wall (and deck) with fans eagerly awaiting to see flipturn.
Mo Lowda and the Humble opened the show and got the crowd rocking. This indie rock group out of Philly, amped the crowd up with their thick, rocky, bluesy sound. Their opening song “Coast is Waiting” off of their self titled debut album, was the perfect introduction to the foursome’s signature sound. Heavy synth bass, retro drums, crunchy guitar, and velvet laced vocals. “Coast is Waiting”, from the group’s self-titled album, paints a vivid picture of lovers at an impasse when an opportunity and distance could come between them. The band closed with “Curse the Weather” from their debut album of the same name. “Curse the Weather ” is a fret shredding anthem about drowning your sorrows with gin and lemonade when the weather of life gets a bit rough. The band displaced its energy all over the stage and the song’s final guitar solo put the perfect punctuation on the end of Mo Lowda’s set.
After a 30 minute intermission, house lights dimmed and the crowd roared! The quintet took to the stage and immediately went into Shadowglow’s intro track, “The Fall”. A song that almost perfectly encapsulates the feeling flipturn tries to convey throughout the album. That feeling of being caught between enthusiastic, youthful elation and the fidelity of adulthood. Dillon’s melancholic voice had the crowd hypnotized and from the first note, had them singing at the top of their lungs.
flipturn puts on a show, their energy never faltering. The crowd became a wave of bopping bodies during the chorus of “Playground”, and erupted into screams and cheers during Tristan’s dynamic guitar lashing at the end of the song.
One of my personal favorite moments came during the intro of one of my favorite songs on the album Shadowglow, “Whales”. Devon removed his floor tom and ride cymbal from stage and asked the crowd to prop them up. He continued to play the intro of “Whales” in the crowd! The lights turned completely blue giving the song an ethereal and ocean like feel. When the first guitar chord was struck the crowd was floating with the sound of Dillon’s voice while Madeline’s bass submerged them deeper into the echoing whale like calls of Tristan’s guitar and Mitch’s synth.
Of course, not to disappoint fans they sprinkled in throwbacks on the setlist such as “Six Below” from their 2018 EP Citrona. This song seems hand crafted for a sold out crowd. With a chorus and breakdown guaranteed to make you start rocking. This high energy indie jam feels like a Pixies song in the best ways, and demands crowd interaction.
Things slowed down a bit, which is by no means a bad thing. I feel like where flipturn really shines, is their ability to hit the gas on songs like “Six Below” but to then turn around and make tracks like “In consideration” a spotlight of Dillon’s voice mixed with Mitch’s expert piano skills. Dillon’s voice at times is so reminiscent of Thom Yorke it’s insane.
After an amazing cover, I won’t spoil here, the show continued on with “Burn” and “Weepy Woman”. Which both feel so cinematic and moody, that at times, you could close your eyes and swear you’re listening to a Radiohead B-Side. Each member brings a beautiful musical element to these songs, which seemed tailor made to play one right after another. Mitch’s synth on “Weepy Woman” expertly went from dreamy to nightmarish, as Madeline’s bass line provided the perfect body vibrating low end, and Devon absolutely went insane on the drums.
The crowd was barely able to catch their breath before as they seamlessly transitioned into “Goddamn” another song the crowd was more than happy to recite by heart. It’s hard to deny “Goddamn” it’s so damn catchy! Dillon singing “Goddamn my poisoned mind!” “Goddamn the internet!” at the top of his lungs was a sight to behold. A song about the easiness of finding “love” on the internet and how it’s so easy it can be “cheap”. This song had the crowd working into a frenzy and leaping into the air.
The set closed with another amazing showcase of the band’s talents when they played the song “Space Cowboy”. A song about wandering through life wanting more, just not knowing what that may be. Dillon took to the front of the crowd and sang directly to them, while the band provided such a rich atmosphere of sound. It was electric when Dillon stuck the mic out and let the crowd sing the end of the song.
The completely amped crowd burst into a roar as the band came back on stage for an encore. They were then treated to “August”, one of their first hits from the Citrona EP. The following song is where Dillon switched it up on the crowd. Instead of playing the song that was on the set list. The band decided they wanted to play a fan favorite, “Vanilla” . A rowdy and funky anthem from their very first EP, Heavy Colors. A song Dillon said they don’t play too often anymore and asked the crowd for assistance. Nevertheless they performed it flawlessly to the crowd’s delight. “Vanilla” is another undeniably catchy song and rightfully had the Pour House erupting when Dillon jumped into the crowd and sang the chorus with them.
flipturn is making a huge buzz in the indie scene and rightfully so. Every piece of this band works, and works well. Each member provides an essential sound that meld so perfectly. Painting vivid imagery with stunning vocals, heart pounding bass, emotional guitar, compelling synth, and powerful drums. You can catch flipturn on the second leg of their Shadowglow tour and at several festivals coming up. Including festivals like, The Governors Ball, Electric Forest, and Railbird.
flipturn consists of Dillon Basse (vocals, rhythm guitar), Tristan Duncan (lead guitar), Madeline Jarman (bass), Mitch Fountain (synth), Devon VonBalson (drums)
flipturn Setlist:
“The Fall”
“Sad Disco”
“Playground”
“Whales”
“Six Below”
“In Consideration”
“Glistening”
“Halfway”
(Cover)
“Hollow”
“Burn/Weepy Woman”
“Goddamn”
“Space Cowboy”
Encore:
“August”
“Vanilla”
“Nickel”