Flobots Storm Billboard’s Hot Modern Rock Tracks Chart

Damn, man, can Flobots catch any more fire? A week after we reported that the crew will be sharing a bill with Metallica (less than a month after inking its deal with Universal, no less) comes news today that the act has claimed the seventh slot on Billboard‘s Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart…or, as the act’s publicist puts it, their song “Handlebars” is the “#1 most added Alternative single in the US.”

Now granted, the outfit — slated to perform in front of a sold out crowd tonight at the Fox Theatre — is bookended by such banal pap as Seether, Puddle of Mudd, 3 Doors Down and the Bravery, but it’s still an impressive feat, especially for brand new, thus far unheralded artist.

So if this momentum continues, will Flobots be able to pull down Fray-like numbers? In today’s marketplace, that’s anybody’s guess. Would certainly be some karmic payback, though. Long before Slade and company were household names, Flobot guitarist Andy Guerrero was hooking the band up with choice slots opening for his other group, Bop Skizzum.

— Dave Herrera