Flaunt

Mysterious, eclectic electro-rock duo Flaunt were formed in 2014. Joseph Vitterito, a producer of electronic music from Maine, discovered Colorado singer and guitarist Justin Jennings on SoundCloud and asked him to contribute vocals to a couple of his tracks. Discovering they had common sensibilities, the pair decided to make the association permanent, collaborating long-distance over the Internet. Jennings' background was in rock and R&B, and the duo used the tension between the electronic and organic to create something unique and unexpected. Their debut album, Codon, was a laid-back affair; largely electronic, it took influence from a diverse range of genres, from trip-hop, drum'n'bass, and U.K. garage to glitch and electro-industrial. Its title track gave them their first minor hit, which appeared on the Billboard club chart. They increased their visibility by releasing a slew of singles and EPs on streaming services. Their follow-up album, 2016's Rave Noir, was a much more stylistically varied effort, incorporating more of Jennings' rock influences alongside elements of world music. It also saw them explore visual media by creating a music video for every track on the album. The Antics of More Youthful Times EP arrived in 2017, before Flaunt signed to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Warner+Bros.%22">Warner Bros.</a> offshoot <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Nub+Music%22">Nub Music</a> for the release of their third album, Spectra, which marked another stylistic leap. Led by the single "Vows," its combination of pop/rock, dub, and R&B elements with literate, emotive lyrics, accomplished musicianship, and unfussy production recalled greats of the past like <a href="spotify:artist:2x9SpqnPi8rlE9pjHBwmSC">Talking Heads</a>. ~ John D. Buchanan, Rovi