Flamango Bay

LA band FLAMANGO BAY recently announced details of Mascara, their new EP set to be released 22nd March 2024 on Moshi Moshi.

Today, they share brand new single “Boyz” with an accompanying music video [watch HERE].

The song is about Ikaika Gunderson’s experiences when newly out as a non-binary person as the world opened back up, post-pandemic:

“I found myself getting annoyed with men who spoke with such conviction when they were being unrealistic. Or overestimating themselves when they wrongly thought they could do everything themselves. The thing that got me the most is that not only were these attitudes socially acceptable, they were even seen as praise-worthy.

“I wrote this song making fun of them. Ironically, this expression finds me participating in this very “boy” performance: comparing myself to others and feeling a sense of competitiveness against them.”

The fast-paced “Boyz” finds Gunderson and the rest of Flamango Bay expressing their “boy” selves, with fun riffs reminiscent of Surf Curse, The Strokes, and Sun Room, and a knowingly-ridiculous guitar break: “The guitar solo intentionally mocks the way I’ve seen boys handle guitar solos,” they add. “However, it’s also an expression of my own boyish nature.”

About Flamango Bay

Formed in high school, Ikaika Gunderson, Dash Goss Post, and Georgia Manou’s soulful fuzzy guitar pop is intertwined with the trio’s shared experiences of growing up in the Bay Area, San Francisco. Now based in LA, their music is borne of their immersion in the west coast’s indie and punk community, as well as their activism in fighting for positive change within it.

There’s a scuffed, lo-fi core at the heart of Flamango Bay’s music but the three-piece are just as likely to work off a lilting swing beat or coax out arcing vocal harmonies as they are to lean into scuzz and distortion. Effortlessly infectious hooks reminiscent of Mitski, beabadoobee and early Strokes.

Inspired by the riot grrl movement, Mitski’s Bury Me At Makeout Creek and bands like X-Ray Spex, Mascara is also informed by performers who are (or were) expansive with gender expression (Freddie Mercury, Prince, et al).

Speaking on the video for 'Boyz' (directed by Colin O'Brien), the band say: "Right after writing Boyz we were brainstorming music video ideas. We were obsessed with the concept of making a parody video of boy bands and when we got director Colin O’Brien onboard he pitched the idea of us all beating each other up at the end. We thought it was hilarious and perfect. The video was ridiculously fun to make and we hope that energy comes through!"

LA group Flamango Bay return to Moshi Moshi with their second EP 'Mascara', coming March 22nd 2024.

Inspired by the riot grrl movement, Mitski’s Bury Me At Makeout Creek and bands like X-Ray Spex, “Mascara” is also influenced by performers who are (or were) expansive with gender expression (Freddie Mercury, Prince, et al).

Speaking on the title track, 'Mascara', singer Ikaika Gunderson says “In 6th grade I started both crying less and wearing makeup more. A part of me knew that there was a correlation. I started wearing mascara so that I would stop rubbing my sensitive watery eyes. I found that this was a funny metaphor for the fact that I used hyper femininity to hide my trans-masc identity; both from myself and others. Mascara acted as a wall between me and my sensitive nature, blocking a stereotypically feminine part of me with make-up, another stereotypically feminine thing.

“Though I wrote this song while I was out as non-binary, I had not let go of this deeply ingrained idea that pretty meant worth. Fucking up your mascara is a kind of revolutionary act when society expects women/feminine presenting people to be “pretty” all the time. For me, it was one of the first parts of accepting my gender. I was performing femininity so well for so long while simultaneously getting more and more disgusted with myself. Removing what society expected of me and seeing this distorted fucked up image in the mirror was both terrifying and exhilarating. Seeing myself with raccoon eyes and black tears feels better than seeing myself with “nice” makeup.”