The Flower Hour 15
This month's edition of The Flower Hour is mostly made up of songs we've covered for the wonderful Slovakia-based music blog and label Start Track.
To kick us off, however, we have a special tribute. "Ichiro's Theme" was recorded to commemorate the induction into the National Baseball Hall Of Fame of former Seattle Mariners player Ichiro Suzuki. Death Cab For Cutie frontman Benjamin Gibbard is clearly a big fan. This whimsical tribute to a modern folk hero is absolutely stepped in a naive - almost childlike - enthusiasm and adoration and because of this, it feels that much more endearing. The track is being released physically as a split 7" single with Ichiro Goes to the Moon by the supergroup The Baseball Project on the flip side. Sadly, it sold out on pre-order.
We recently had the pleasure of witnessing and, in turn, reviewing Like De-Sciscio live in concert. This song, "Moon", was the standout for us. A delicate, thoughtful lament with a vocal performance not dissimilar to Jeff Buckley - it is the sort of song that can reduce a room to a whisper. A delicate, ready-made pin-drop moment. We remember on the night thinking that his vibrato and captivating stage presence reminded us a little bit of Anohni. The vocal gymnastics are spellbinding, his aura enthralling. Run, don't walk to get tickets for his next lot of dates, whenever they may be.
"Vessel" by Emily Izen Row is up next and it feels more like a sound collage than a song. It begins like a traditional English folk song. Almost shanty-esque in its familiarity. But soon layers of vocals are added to create a feeling of discomfort and unease. The build and they build and are eventually joined by instruments. At first, what sounds like a little bit of cello. Dark and brooding. It comes and goes and then returns. Then found sounds or field recordings interspersed with electronic glitches and cymbals. And all the while the vocals swirl. All of this comes together to make a wonderful, chaotic amalgamation of noise. It's bewitching and befuddling in equal measure and, potentially, unlike anything else we've ever heard.
After a gentle, barely-there start, "Daylight" blossoms into a serene, scenic, sonic landscape to form an emotive ambient instrumental piece with personality and distinction. Irish singer-songwriter Oisin Leech's synths, sporadic bells and strings are joined by frequent collaborator - and also producer - New York-based musician Steve Gunn presumably on guitar. The two make a wonderful, effective pairing and the album that it's taken from - 2024's Cold Sea - was stupendous. So much so that it was BBC 6 Music presenter Cerys Matthew's album of the year last year. What are you waiting for? Get on it! Oh, Oisin is _also_ the host of a weekly radio show on RTE called Caravan Radio. Full details here.
Montreal’s Libby Ember wrote this song 4 years ago when she was only 15. The maturity and reflectiveness of the song absolutely belies the author's youth. The fact that this song is executed with all the grace and expertise of an experienced songwriter is frankly mind-boggling. It is imbued with audible anxiety and palpable pathos - part Phoebe Bridgers, part I Am Easy To Find-era The National, "Fortune Cookies" is an instant modern classic. Committed to deepening her musical knowledge, she is soon set to embark on a university music program, aiming to further expand her horizons and develop her sound. Only her second single, we anticipate big things for Libby. Her debut EP is due on September 12th. Remember the name, you heard it here first.
London trio Hazy Waters recently released their debut EP - Watch Out For Deep Waters - it's an excellent combination of strong post-punk vibes, goth undertones, new wave tendancies, shoegaze textures and alt-rock energy. "Her" is the last track on the EP and is a song of two halves. At first, it’s a relatively pared-back, keyboard-led slow jam with singer and songwriter Agnieszka Trawczyńska's vocal reminding us a bit of both Bat For Lashes' Natasha Khan and Daughter's Elena Tonra. Eventually, however, it becomes an explosive, cacophonous wall of sound. Grinding guitars, throbbing bass, pounding drums combine to assault and enthral the senses. At 6 minutes long the song is quite an investment, but it's worth every second of your time. Strap yourself in.
"Kaleidoscopes" is a mishmash of stylistic components – it’s part math rock, part post-hardcore, it's even fairly groovy - but primarily - it’s female-fronted emo, and we're absolutely here for it. In a genre disproportionately dominated by highly introspective men, it’s incredibly refreshing to encounter a point of view that’s pointed outward and delivered by a singer who doesn’t fit the typical mold. Comparisons to Paramore are perhaps inevitable, but there is definitely more going on here with bits of Biffy Clyro, Gang Of Four, and maybe even a bit of Deftones thrown into the mix. Lord Jane vocalist Clodagh May offers a look at how perspectives have evolved as we navigate the chaos of the modern world, and how things may have been simpler in the past, exploring themes of growth and change.
After the release of the wonderful Michael (What's Your Call) EP (seriously the whole thing is amazing - front to back - one of the releases of the year so far) Merseyside quartet Keyside are back with another stomper. In keeping with the style of their previous tracks, "If You Don't Try" is an upbeat jangly English indie-rock number reminiscent in spirit of The La's, The Smiths, The Coral and early Arctic Monkeys. The track has a steady pace, excellent musicianship (particularly the electrifying lead guitar) and a middle 8 that acts as a nice change of pace and variety in style. It is sure to light up indie discos dancefloors across the country. The band recently announced a sizeable UK tour in the late-autumn. Keep your eyes peeled for a live review from us towards the end of November.
Continuing their run of excellent tunes, North East-England-based indie-rockers Fortitude Valley are back with "Oceans Apart" – the third track taken from their forthcoming album Part Of The Problem, Baby. Instrumentally, this one has more than a touch of First Impressions Of Earth-era The Strokes about it as well as the influences we’ve seen on prior tracks – namely The Beths, Surfer Blood, Allo Darlin’ and Weezer. Laura Kovic sounds like a more upbeat version of Isobel Campbell here as she touches, with notable nostalgia, on her Australian homeland as she sings “crossing my heart, oceans apart / trying to make it on my own”. The band will be embarking on a short tour of the UK in September to celebrate the new album – catch them if you can – you can find all the info here. See you there!
Hassan Saouli is the multi-disciplinary creative genius behind Hassan And The Spirits and “Love Rhythms” is an eclectic, eccentric, exquisite blend of elements. It’s part doo-wop/barbershop a la The Beach Boys (or the stuff they were inspired by), part sound collage, part Peter, Bjorn & John/Phoenix-style pop-rock, part psychedelic rock and part 60s girl group melodies. Maybe even a little Her Space Holiday? Lykke Li? The layers of vocals are the star of the show and there are also what sounds like squelchy synths, sheets of glimmering guitars, pretty piano and tasteful, sparse percussion – all combined perfectly. It reminds us in parts of the fantastic Persica 3 album we reviewed earlier this year – it’s certainly equally ambitious – we just wish there was more of it! Hopefully, more to come from this exciting polymath soon.
The debut album from The Lonely Suns (the pseudonym of Southern California resident Dan Harris) is the culmination of a lifetime’s work. "Be Mine Always" is the most tender moment from an album that is largely made up of garage rock riffage, spirit and groove. On this track The Lonely Suns are joined on lead guitar by fellow Black Rainbow Collective member and guitar-slinging gun for hire, Steve Hancock. His 50 years of experience on the fretboard shine brightly through and complement the outstanding, tender, doo-wop-inspired arrangement beautifully. The flourishes add another layer to the infectious tune that you will be humming for days. The subtle percussion and acoustic strums are charming enough on their own but when you combine them with Dan’s soul-baring sentiment and innovative instrumentation (he played a skateboard and a bicycle bell on this song; yes, you read that correctly), then you’re really on to a winner. The song concludes with a bit of psychedelic, reverse guitar that transitions into the sound of crashing waves. Beautiful stuff.
“Be Your Self” starts and is harder than the hardest of hardcore punk. Think Minor Threat meets, no, having a fight in an alley with, Napalm Death. It's goes at 100mph from the outset. It dips to around 60 for a few bars where it channels the tongue-in-cheek spirit of well-humoured classic UK punk/new wave acts like The Buzzcocks, The Undertones and The Vapors before ramping up again to about 101 and ending up doing like The Hives on a combination of coke and speed. “Your lack of imagination compliments your dull personality” states the brains behind the operation - the illusive and mysterious Alex Trouchkin. We don't know who he's talking to but there’s certainly no danger of any pedestrian passivity here. The whole album is great, we reviewed it for Start Track. Read that here.
“Content” by BBQ Pope starts with the fuzziest of fuzz bass sounds which quickly explodes into an euphoric, if monetary, sing-along. As the song progresses, the melody and the pacing remind us a bit of Death Cab For Cutie’s songwriting. That’s not to say that the song _sounds_ like Death Cab. But, there are aspects of it that appear to nod in that direction. There’s also a bit of Brendan Benson’s excellent rock/pop sensibilities here. There’s even a touch of Britpop also-rans like Shed Seven, The Longpigs and The Bluetones. The final, and perhaps the most notable, component at play here is the huge shoegaze-esque wall of guitars, particularly towards the end of the song, where it’s complemented with almost surf rock sounding tremolo-infused strums. Coupled with the aforementioned extremely catchy sing-along element (the lyrics go “owooo-owooo, owooo-owooo, ooo ooo”), the conclusion is irresistible.
This is followed by “The Count” by Seattle, Washington’s Brace Overjean who combine a definite 90s-influenced kinetic energy (think Teenage Fanclub meets Dinosaur Jr. meets Weezer, perhaps?) with almost Elliott Smith-like tenderness and (not for the first time on this playlist) Death Cab-style song structure. The Count is poppy, fuzzy, shimmery, wistful goodness. It feels like elation, anxiety and depression all at the same time. On paper, it's a strange and unexpected stylistic pairing but for some indefinable, alchemical reason, it works. It’s a unique combination of styles that’s difficult to compare to anything else, and that in itself is incredibly exciting. Another one to watch, for sure.
With a strong blend of post punk-inspired rhythm section (the combination of that Peter Hook-esque bassline and those electronic drums absolutely screams New Order), gothic new wave vibes (definitely a dreamy touch of The Cure here) and airy, sunshiney, scandi-pop vocals (reminiscent of acts like The Concretes and perhaps Lykke Li on especially subdued form) Club8 are back with their catchiest new song yet. At just over 2 and a half minutes long, the Swedish mainstays have conjured a mini-epic with “Born The Wrong Time”. It’s enchanting and bewitching, enthralling and beguiling. It ensnares you from the very beginning and keeps you locked in until the end. Even after it finishes, you find yourself humming it. After releasing their 10th LP – their first in 6 years – at the end of last year and a string of excellent singles since then, they really are on a roll. It’s great to have them well and truly back.
Up next is “Am I The Drama?” - a new collab between Strange Method Music Group head-honcho and KG founding father Harry Heart and recent label recruit Lokane (Brazil-based Briton Damian Kane). They worked together a few years ago on a track called Tamoios: I Don't Love You Anymore and the new tune seems to act as a yang to their first songs ying. Where Tamoios… was reflective, pensive and subtle, the new tune is full of urgency, attitude and bile. And it bangs. The sparse instrumentation is built around dark and broody bass frequencies, acoustic arpeggios, repetitive synth patterns, steady electronic percussion and Harry's characteristically versatile vocals. It's instantly catchy and expertly crafted and we'd expect nothing less from these boys.
“Nothing’s Changed” is a quintessentially British sounding tune. It's forward-thinking Grime for the modern age. JayaHadADream is the musical moniker of Jamaican-Irish rapper Jaya Gordon-Moore and with a sound on this tune that is somewhat reminiscent of a combination of Hyperdub’s Iceboy Violet & Nueen and a much-less-poppy-version of woman of the moment PinkPanthress, she straddles genres effortlessly. We hear elements of Manga Saint Hilare, Mike Skinner and Frankie Stew & Harvey Gunn in her introspective, observational and analytical rhymes but she sets herself apart with her own, distinctive, individual flair. With cosigns from Mick Jenkins, Stormzy, DJ Semtex and the Eavises the future looks bright for this young star.
The last track this month is Union Jack from Isaiah Hull who comes across a bit like a British Saul Williams. His delivery is urgent, unhinged and desperate - reminiscent of early Slowthai - and the production is a melange of sound and vibes that creates and cultivates a haunting atmosphere and tense audio environment. Built around glitchy, bassy beats and a patchwork of audio sample snippets the music is claustrophobic and chaotic and the vocal matches, however a quick glance into the extracurriculars of this artist reveals anything but chaos. Poetry, writing workshops, collabs, film making, record label - there's a lot going on around Isaiah - and we feel like there much more to come.
And that’s it for this month. Please enjoy this month's selection and as always, we’d encourage you to please, #GiveThemTheirFlowers.
Submissions for consideration for inclusion in future instalments of The Flower Hour are always open.
Get in touch by email (kindagrizzly@gmail.com), here on Substack or via social media for consideration for inclusion.
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