Press
December 22nd, 2010
2010 MOVERS AND SHAKERS
John Common & Blinding Flashes of Light, Beautiful Empty (Self-released). While John Common has always been a noteworthy songwriter, Beautiful Empty is his finest effort to date. An elegant work of spaciousness, Empty is imbued with discernible pathos and benefits from Common's keen observations, poetic insight and smart arrangements, all of which are brought to life by the exceptional performances of his gifted counterparts and the vocals of Jess DeNicola, which perfectly complement Common's. — Herrera
-- Westword
January 12th, 2010
Since moving to Denver from Florida nearly 15 years ago, singer-songwriter John Common has knocked around Denver in a number of incarnations. At the turn of the millennium, Common and his collaborators in Rainville gained a loyal following while sticking pretty close to a tried-and-true roots/Americana formula. Nearly ten years and countless songs later, “Beautiful Empty” — the performer’s latest release with a rotating cast of musicians called John Common and Blinding Flashes of Light — amply demonstrates far greater stylistic breadth and showcases a songwriter of remarkable depth and maturity.
Beautiful Empty... It’s a pop record that invites you to poke beneath the surface, and rewards you with soul, insight and some musical surprises.
-- Denver Post | Steal This Track
June 22nd, 2011
"A lush, atmospheric sound built around literary-quality songwriting and top-shelf instrumentation." -- Troy Moon, Pensacola News Journal
-- Pensacola News Journal
December 28th, 2010
JC&BFoL Named a Band to Watch in 2011 by Examiner
JOHN COMMON & BLINDING FLASHES OF LIGHT
Along with gathering a top-notch band of musicians (collectively, Blinding Flashes of Light), the release of Beautiful Empty in early 2010 signified a major shift for vetaran singer/songwriter John Common. From all appearances, it was a shift in the right direction, resulting in the best year musically of his career. This past year the band played almost every major local festival, including Mile High Music Festival, was listed in Denver Post's Top 20 Underground Bands, and was titled Best Indie/Folk Acoustic Band in this year's Westword Music Showcase. The path continues upward for JC & BFOL in 2011.
-- Jeff McQuilken
August 15th, 2010
Common's vocal approach and powerful guitar work seems designed to fill an amphitheater, but it works just as well in an outdoor, open-air venue. The frontman's philosophical lyrics and novel chord structures find their real power in the work of the ensemble, a group that features bright Moog work, refined cello and clarinet lines and a compelling female vocal complement in the form of backup singer Jess De Nicola.
Indeed, the sound feels downright epic at times.
-- Westword / A.H. Goldstein
March 9th, 2010
We make it our business at Remixed to seek out the best musicians you've never heard of; so we become fans of new artists faster than we can write about them. But when a disc goes from the "So, Who's This Guy?" pile to the coveted "Our All-Time Favorite Albums Ever" Display Case With The Cool Little Inset Ikea Lighting Fixture, before the end of the third track, we've leapt right past our mission statement and landed squarely on proof-of-concept.
In a matter of weeks, Beautiful Empty has dropped out of the sky and landed on our short list of favorite albums ever, with nary a complaint from new neighbors Joni Mitchell's Blue and Paul Simon's Graceland. We're almost afraid to ask ourselves what you and the Flashes of Light will do next.
-- Remixed Magazine
February 13th, 2010
It is truly one of the most endearing and magnificent albums I’ve ever had in my collection. The lyrics are those of the poet–laureate, insightful, and glaringly crisp in their focus. The music is the equal to anything ever done by any great pop music arranger.
Beautiful Empty is full of mystery, intrigue, loneliness, pain, and searching --- and there’s no direct answers here…there’s no salvation, no redemption - although there is hope, optimism. All put together we get one of the most sophisticated and intelligent adult pop records of the past several decades
-- Chris K. / The Colorado Sound
January 18th, 2010
"John Common & Blinding Flashes of Light emerged through smoke dressed to kill in black and red and goggles. From the second they took the stage until the second they left it, they played with the sort of blind joy that will make you believe in whatever they're doing. DeNicola's voice is an arrow, unmistakable and full of personality. Common's voice, by contrast, is steady and broad. It swallows you. His band, composed of his choice of local talent, is of unmistakable high caliber, each capable of holding a song by himself. But this is John Common's music -- it's pure passion and happiness."
-- Westword
January 12th, 2010
After nearly quitting music, John Common made the best record of his life with his new band, Blinding Flashes of Light
...While recording, Common asked each member to create intensity with emotion rather than volume and to leave space for one another in the arrangements. "We wanted it to feel, as much as possible, like a real band of human beings playing in a wooden room," he explains. "We wanted it to sound like real people conversing with one another, musically, like having a conversation."
They succeeded, because the first thing you notice about Beautiful Empty is its spaciousness: The voices of Common and DeNicola blend together seamlessly and never strain to compete with one other, much less with the other instruments. On the song "Same Scar," for example, moaning cello lines harmonize gracefully with an accordion as it inhales and exhales gently, weaving an impressively elegant backdrop.
-- Dave Herrera / Westword
January 6th, 2010
JOHN COMMON & BLINDING FLASHES OF LIGHT | BEAUTIFUL EMPTY
"The new songs are as heartbreaking as they are clever. And the music is tender, ornate and vibrant, sparkling with affecting melodies sung with elegance and grace..."
-- Westword
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