Flicker schtick

Win a contest, get a record contract. That's the way it worked for Flickerstick, the victor of VH-1's "Bands on the Run," the network's contribution to the ever-increasing deluge of reality-based game shows. Beating out a handful of others, the Texas natives got $50,000 cash, $100,000 worth of equipment, the budget for their first music video and a valuable chance to strut their stuff (and their sex lives) on television. A record deal quickly followed, leading to the revamped re-release of their 2000 indie album Welcoming Home the Astronauts. So they've arrived. Next step: stick around.

Flickerstick is in quite a position. The obvious problem with pop that just pops up is that it's usually a flash in the pan. If the fellows from Flickerstick are to avoid that fate, they will have to divorce themselves from the "Band on the Run" moniker as soon as possible and trade some of their novelty for straight-up legitimacy. The visionaries at VH-1 may have graciously jumpstarted Flickerstick's career, but they could just as easily end it, and guess what--they've got a show for that, too. It's called, "Where Are They Now?"

Not that Flickerstick isn't talented enough to exist on its own. Before all the hype and publicity, the band was a small-time act that amassed an impressive following in its home state, so they must be doing something right. Far from the mechanical band at Chuck E. Cheese's, and even farther from the inflate-a-band feces known as O-Town, Flickerstick may have enough talent to defend against their pre-packaged presentation.

Welcoming Home the Astronauts is actually a fairly solid effort. Lead singer Brandin Lea does his best to sound like Bono, and everyone else does his best to sound like Pink Floyd. Despite that, it's not even annoying. Cuts like "Beautiful" and "Coke" will be right at home on the radio, and "Direct Line to the Telepathic" shows an admirable spark of creativity. Couple that with the off-color humor of "Chloroform the One You Love," and you've got yourself an album.

Sure, the whole thing is a little overproduced and parts of it are blindingly polished, but that's all part of being a pop band. Hell, judging from their pictures, the guys from Flickerstick spent as much time practicing their disaffected stares as they did their instruments, but we'll forgive that, too. Flickerstick is famous now...

...at least for 15 minutes.