Rollsplytt were a band from Germany that remains a complete unknown as I write this. They released this one album, with the intriguing name of Flappergranny (what can that possibly even mean?*) back in 1982. And it sounds every bit of its era. To my ears at least, Rollsplytt has their heart in the Synth Pop movement, but didn't realize that they needed a vocalist, and maybe a few catchy tunes to work with. They are rhythmically uninteresting, but the instrumentation on top is really quite accomplished. Primarily keyboards, guitars, and a smattering of reeds which conjure up some splendid melodies. In this way I was most reminded of fellow countrymen Rousseau, minus the obvious affection for progressive rock. But Rollsplytt managed to accomplish a similar sound on what seems like an accident. This is a good one that needed a few more ideas and instrumentation to flesh out these tracks a bit. Well worth your time to investigate.
*- So let's take a stab at this. My grandmother was a professional Vaudeville musician, and she was also known as a "Flapper Girl", which was a term / style for liberated women in post World War I. In looking at that cover, perhaps that's the reference - an older woman who did not let go of that era. But I don't think "Flappergranny" is the name for that...
Priority: 3
11/6/15 (new entry)
AC's original notes: "All instrumental prog/fusion with a distinctly early 80s sound, but not in the way that you might expect. It's as if a 1982 British synth-pop band decided to take a break between albums and do a prog side project or something. The copious synths, sax/flute, as well as the guitar and bass lines just have that certain sound, as do the very "bouncy" (for lack of a better word) and straight forward rhythms that propel this lengthy (almost 50 minutes) and well-produced album along. There are some definite fusion touches (mostly of the Weather Report variety), but I'd label it more as "funky synth-driven instrumental prog" than full-fledged jazz-rock, if that makes any sense. It's quite consistent, and has some real period charm, which won me over in the end."
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