Flash and the Pan “Flash and the Pan” 1979. Flash and the Pan was a part-time recording project of Australian songwriting duo Harry Vanda and George Young (from the Easybeats), an arty new wave sound that somehow escaped my Australian-Brit new wave obsession of the late 70′s and early 80′s. (This album is a very recent acquisition, though I’ve been meaning to check out the band for awhile.) Two singles that appear on this debut LP were released earlier, in ‘77 and ‘78: “Hey St. Peter” and “Down Among the Dead Men.” Both were hits in Australia and Europe (“Down Among the Dead Men” was retitled “And the Band Played On” in the UK and is very Bowie-esque). Flash and the Pan also received a fair amount of US radio play, the album making it onto the US charts. The music is synth-heavy, but not the synth-pop generally associated with the time (i.e. Gary Numan, Human League) that was fairly straightforward and danceable. Flash and the Pan is quirky, atmospheric without noir, often spoken-word vocals that approach self-parody (i.e. “California” reminds me of Flight of the Conchords, predating them by about 30 years). “Lady Killer” conjures up a mashup of Lou Reed and every arena rock band from 1975 (I can’t decide if that’s a good thing or not) while “Hole in the Middle” blends a funky disco beat and church organ chords. Flash and the Pan is interesting, not my favorite thing by far, but musically it provides an evolutionary bridge between 70′s big rock, disco and glam and 80′s art rock, new wave, synth-pop.