Rollsplytt - Flappergranny. 1982 Germany

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 SynthPop 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.

Interesting enough the The AC also referenced "synth-pop" below. Definitely something different here for sure.

*- 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...

Originals are fairly pricey and it's never been reissued in any format. Not sure it deserves one either, but I would pick one up if done correctly/legally.

This was from the last batch sent in from The AC in early 2015. His original notes to us were: "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."