It's more than a bit ironic that Charleston-based songsmith Michael Flynn admits that the soundtrack to 1983's "The Big Chill" is one of his early influences. After all, the Motown-heavy compilation that paved the way for every thematic movie score since served as the backdrop to a script about children of the 1960s who are coming to terms with the death of their idealistic youth. While Flynn's 2004 release "No Disassemble" deals with the perils of growing up and is replete with themes of love gone sour and death, its creative architect is still chasing his dream of making a living singing the songs he's written.
Growing up in Greenville, Flynn went to the College of Charleston before attending the well-respected Berkelee College of Music in Boston to further his abilities on the ivories - a skill his parents began cultivating when he was in third grade. At Berkelee, Flynn received both honors for his songwriting and began to chafe against the academic setting he found himself in. Eventually moving back to Charleston, he took with him collaborator Josh Kaler, who has played either drums or guitar for his friend ever since. They collaborated on Flynn's debut "Music for the Flood," which was the thematically expansive result of his dammed-up songwriting and arranging sensibilities, and hinted at the much tighter 2004 recording.
"No Disassemble" was written and recorded during a year in Charleston, and shows the movement Flynn has made away from the academic confines of the music establishment and into the emotional deep-end of personal experience. Flynn said that while "Music for the Flood" was written from a narrative perspective, "No Disassemble" lacked the filter that kept him from putting himself more fully into the compositions.
Recorded primarily in his bedroom, the album never ducks into the muddy instrumental depths that were the hallmark of "Music for the Flood," nor does it sound like the lo-fi effort of a beginner or an indie snob that's grown too big for his britches. Instead, Flynn uses room noises and a veritable palette of Casiotone electronic flourishes and handclaps to accent the piano, guitar and drum lineup that would otherwise be unremarkable. Sounding like a product of the IDM revolution in pop instead of a child of grunge that similar-sounding North Carolina native Ben Folds was, Flynn's literate writing and inherent sense of timing work together on "No Disassemble" to result in an understated masterpiece. Feeling never gets left behind in exchange for musical flourishes, though, and tracks like "The Sea is Never Full" and "Streamlined" show Flynn knowing when to leave out elements or extend instrumental passages in a way that is atypical of the current crop of independent artists.
"You're in Luck" finds Flynn announcing to a past love that "I know the way to your heart, you're in luck," tempting her to return to a convenient relationship. On the album's most evocative track, "Don't Let Them See Me Like This," a hollow percussive line drives the moody organ and soaring guitar that punctuate Flynn's narrative of a hospitalized love one and the helplessness he feels watching their suffering.
Although Flynn has yet to garner the critical acclaim or regional following that are stepping stones to widespread success, the building blocks are in place. "No Disassemble" is waiting for a major label to snap it up and repackage, leaving the artist and his entourage with little to do other than tour incessantly to support better promotion efforts.
When many artists dream of their faces on MTV or singing to sold-out stadiums, Flynn remains a bit more modest in admitting that his five-year plan is to make a living doing what he is now, just hopefully with a few more people in the crowd. There is already at least another album's worth of material in place, but that can wait for a more expansive touring schedule, something that might include a jaunt to the UK, Flynn said. Indeed, it seems he is finally at ease with the lineup of his band and its ability to buoy him to new creative heights. "Now I can make all the sounds I want to," Flynn said in reference to his collaboration with Josh Kaler.
Even his Charleston base seems unlikely to offer a budding artist like himself much support, but Flynn says it lacks many of the negatives common to more musically literate towns like Austin, Portland or even Boston - ease of booking shows and getting promotion in the local media. Indeed, Charleston has its own tight community of artists like The Films, Cary Ann Hearst and Bill Carson that Flynn credits for giving him creative support and encouragement. "Seeing good music like that pushes me to want to be better," Flynn said.
No longer working random day jobs like the one at Kinko's he quit in December, he plans to avoid the "black hole" that the Southeast can be for artists that manage followings here but are virtually unknown outside the region by a following stiff touring schedule. The various iterations of his band have played Columbia many times during the past three years, and fans have another chance to see him with Josh Kaler in support at Jammin' Java on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Don't pass up the opportunity to see arguably South Carolina's best songwriting talent before stardom takes hold and his perennial visits cease.
