Garage rock cornerstone The Flaming Sideburns release a unique compilation of their early material. The carefully curated collection, put together by the band and Svart Records, features a total of 13 studio recordings from 1996–1999, three of which are previously unreleased, while the rest appeared on sold-out limited releases around the turn of the millennium.
The team behind the compilation, titled Rocket Science, is familiar to those who know the band: the cover art was created by the band's early guitarist Vilunki 3000 and the mastering was done by the band's trusted producer Jürgen Hendlmeier. Some of the material on the compilation album hits the moment when the band was at the most significant juncture in its career.
"Musically, Rocket Science tells the story of the moment when the band's long-dreamed-of US tour finally came true in 1999 and The Flaming Sideburns made it to New York for a recording session before returning to Finland. While on tour, we had verbally signed a record deal with Bad Afro in Bellingham at the Garageshock festival. As a result, our first 'official' album It's Time To Testify...Brothers & Sisters was released at the end of the same year, and so the band's story really began when Rocket Science's time was over," explains the band's singer Eduardo Martinez, contextualizing the importance of the upcoming release as a kind of watershed moment in the band's history.
Founded in 1995, The Flaming Sideburns had already toured both sides of the Atlantic before the turn of the millennium, well before the garage rock boom of the early 2000s kicked in with hundreds of new bands. During its active years, the band has released three compilation albums and four studio albums, the latest of which, Silver Flames, was released by Svart Records in 2021. The band is currently on a creative hiatus and will announce its plans next year.
1. SPANISH BLOOD (Tomljanovic/Pavicic)
2. DO THE BAMA LAMA (Jutila/Martinez)
3. LOOSE MY SOUL (Suksi/Jutila/Martinez)
4. SWEET CHRISTEEN (Jutila/Martinez)
5. LUCILLE (Collins/Penniman)
6. DIRTY ROBBER (Greek/Morrill/Dangel)
7. CRASHING DOWN (Suksi/Martinez)
8. WALKING DYNAMITE (Jutila/Martinez)
9. SUSIE-Q (Hawkins/Chaisson/Lewis/Broadwater)
10. CRAZY LOVE (Willie Dixon)
11. SHE WAS GOOD (Cooper/Wood)
12. MOVE (Sayers/Booth)
13. LA MALDICIÓN DEL GRINGO (Jutila/Martinez)