The Madison band is back and sounding better than ever.
The Flavor That Kills. Photo credit: Catherine Cahoon
Good Morning!
Today we’re listening to “Spin” by Madison WI band The Flavor That Kills
Over the last few years, our journey to find new music has taken us to some odd corners of the country. We’ve made stops in places as far afield as Bellingham, Washington; Bloomington, Indiana; Athens, Georgia; and Portland, Maine.
Today, we’re heading somewhere much closer to home: Madison, Wisconsin.
A year ago (literally yesterday), I shared the story of how Madison-based band The Flavor That Kills had me wandering around in circles looking for a treasure they’d buried. A code was listed in the liner notes of their Book Of Secrits (sic) record, and I was hell-bent on finding it. That didn’t pan out–turns out I’m terrible at geocaching–but I did find a new favorite local band.
And now they’re back.
If any band is appropriate for now, it’s The Flavor That Kills. They’re chaos agents who describe their sound as a “mix of rock, soul, melody, punk, and a dash of classic psychedelic sensibilities.” In other words, it’s the perfect soundtrack to the madness we’re currently living through. I described the music as an existential threat to any roof it’s played under. Their latest single is no exception and wastes no time getting to work.
Ahead of their fourth release, they’ve added a fifth member and more synthesizers. After splitting recording sessions between America’s Dairyland and Oakland, Thunderbird Lodge will be out later this year, but for now, we’re getting a taste with “Spin.”
Talking about the single, drummer Eric Hartz noted, “We didn’t really have a complete song when we recorded Spin.” We wrote a lot of that song while we were in the studio, which was a new experience for the band.”
They could have fooled me. Spin finds the band channeling all that frenetic energy with laser-like precision and shifting into another gear.
“Spin’s” recording process might have been new territory for the band, but delivering mind-blowing sound is not. This is another one that goes to 11. Your neighbors will thank you later.
Listen:
The Flavor That Kills | Spin (single), 2025
Click the record to listen via Bandcamp.
As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this record!
Kevin Sent 
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