Pop culture has been almost satirical in itself for a few decades, sating the easily placated masses with superficial sonics and formulaic hooks. With their latest single, So Dirty the Flamingos took a no-prisoners-held fatal shot to the peddlers of postured earworms and their aural enablers. Moving Your Lips to Hallelujah makes its point loud and clear without leaning on hollow gimmicks. For a band to make such a statement through sound, they’d better be damn sure they’ve got the songwriting chops to prove why they’re for the more cultivated country rock palette. It is evident right off the bat that So Dirty the Flamingos have the licks, the wit, and the raunchy razor-sharp precision to back their convictions.
The track pulls you into the exhilaration of the choruses, teases you with winding rootsy guitars in the verses, and keeps the vocal performance dynamic enough to throw an infinite emotional punch. It is tongue-in-cheek while accidentally becoming a love song, the kind of Americana cut that should push these loveable rogues beyond the popularity of Springsteen, but that will never happen, will it, because people only engage their sycophantic tendencies for artists with legacy. Which takes us right back to why this track was penned into the country road dirt in the first place.
Moving Your Lips to Hallelujah is now available on all major streaming platforms including Spotify and Bandcamp.
Review by Amelia Vandergast
