From time to time, Destroy//Exist shines a light on an album which has profoundly influenced the music we value the most. D//E Select serves as a commendatory showcase, offering the chance to spotlight those favorites which deserve continual recognition.
Originally released in 1996, She, the sole album by Cork, Ireland’s Flywheel, is one of those underground shoegaze essentials that deserve to travel far beyond the circles that first discovered them.
Flywheel emerged from Cork’s fertile mid-nineties independent scene, initially appearing under the name Sander on the Cork Music Resource Co-op compilation Ten by Ten. They also briefly performed as Coil before a cease-and-desist letter prompted another change of identity. Following a 1995 session for influential Irish broadcaster Dave Fanning, the newly renamed Flywheel secured a deal with Swedish label IWH Records and released She on August 2nd, 1996.
Recorded during the band’s years in Stockholm and released through IWH Records, She introduced a sound built from beautiful contrasts. Ann Marie Ryan’s ethereal, deadpan-cool vocals drift above the layered guitars of Mark Tangney and Kieran Curtin, while Paul Kelleher’s driving bass and Mick O’Donovan’s drums keep the music firmly in motion. Standout number, Caterpillar, captures that balance finely, being hazy yet propulsive, understated yet emotionally consuming, with its guitars gathering into a dense current around Ryan’s distant presence.
Flywheel broke up shortly after the album’s release, leaving She to acquire the aura of a record passed quietly between those fortunate enough to encounter it. The group eventually reunited during the first easing of COVID restrictions, giving their music another opportunity to surface. Nearly thirty years on, Flywheel are fully back in motion, releasing new work that earns just as much attention as their earlier material.
ZR