Flat Back Four up next. These guys play a friendly bucket of melodic punk, the kind of thing I listen to on repeat. "Will you miss me when I'm gone?" reminded me of a sort of grown up Captain Everything. Great breakdowns with some frenetic bass playing. Pretty sure I saw their bassist rocking some bass chords at points, not to mention some lighting speed finger tapping. Given some of the crazy bends I saw him pulling, he'd probably fit a whammy bar on his 4string if that was an option. "Got Got NOT GOT!" was a great chorus. Very enjoyable to watch.
Chris Lowry, review of 24 Feb 2019 gig at the Old Town House, Warrington
"Flat back Four assault the audience, they’ve got harder edged lately, the hint of metal is sounding more and more like 80s hardcore punk. There’s a discordant edge that breaks out into strong melodies. The songs are strongly crafted and well-paced. There’s gaps before the onslaught, their use of space gives the audience time to grab a breath before they hit full speed again. Efficient and flawless, a band who’ve been around and can demonstrate they know what they are about."
SCENE and HEARD, Sept 2018
"Flat Back Four haven’t been around Liverpool for a while but they haven’t gone rusty in the intervening time. There are new songs, they are as tight as ever and they sound powerful tonight. There’s a Marshall driven crunch from the guitar (JCM 800 for the music geeks) sitting on top of a whirlwind of frenzied bass and high velocity drums. Their punk/metal sound contains intelligently crafted songs that somehow pull off the trick of variety, frequent changes yet not slowing down and pulls you in."
SCENE and HEARD, June 2018
"I’m sat stage side in awe of this three-piece. Ste, Ste and Will are exceptional musicians and I’m so taken in by the playing that I at times forgot all about the songs as I watched their technique. Astounding and mesmerizing… Particularly Wil’s bass playing, which simply should not be allowed..!
The songs are singalongy, footbally, punky (in a nice punky way) and you know that Lingard has a metal element within him just itching to get out."
Neil Crud, Link to Wales
“Riffage and charisma aplenty.
Flat Back Four have been around for a long time but still sound fresh. They were great.”
Eagle Spits
“Fast as fuck but melodic and catchy punk rock…Clearly taking influence from 90s UK punk bands such as Leatherface and Snuff, but with added aggression to create their own sound.”
Zoe Barrow @ Ipswich Punk Scene
“Legendary speed freaks aus St. Helens… well-crafted and insightful fast metal tinged punk.”
Anti-pop Records
“Three-piece from way out west hammering home the message that less is more –
aural assault guaranteed.”
Andrew Morton - Punk In Rotherham
“Flat Back Four garner a lot of respect from the crowd, and from the other bands…they embrace skate punk, combining hardcore with melodic singalong tunes. With years of experience, they exude a confidence that completely captures the crowd.”
Leanne Durr - Activate the Pit