Dark indie synth pop group Flaamingos was formed in 2011 by Los Angeles dwellers and former collaborators Jerry Narrows and Daniel Koontz. The pair had played together in their younger days in shoegaze bands, but with the new project they sought to tap into a more sinister part of their musical muse, employing Krautrock-inspired drum machine rhythms and moody, post-punk basslines and vocal melodies evocative of the Factory Records scene at its most dour and least dancey. Playing around L.A. for some months, they became a fixture at the Part Time Punks night at the Echo. The duo honed their sound before releasing their Walk a Wire EP in February of 2012, and their more polished, self-titled debut album in 2013. ~ Fred Thomas