Flowers – “Joanna” (Stereogum Premiere)
Picture yourself in a church: The sun is peeking through the stained glass windows at exactly the right angle, exposing a cloud of dust particles and dead skin that lingers above the pews and floats slowly through the air. I used to go to church a lot when I was little and I found myself constantly distracted and mesmerized by the odd beauty of this, these little specks that only reveal themselves in a certain light. London three-piece Flowers sounds like the closest you can get to that experience in musical form. “Joanna” is borderline holy — Rachel Kenedy sings in an angelic upper register, hovering above like a songbird. Her voice is the focal point here, gently lifted by sparse but sturdy instrumentation. Flowers’ upcoming debut Do Want You Want To, It’s What You Should Do is filled with moments of odd beauty, brought to the forefront by production from Suede’s Bernard Butler. “Cry on my shoulder if you want/ I think it’s better if you don’t,” Kenedy sings on “Joanna,” perfectly encapsulating the appeal of Flowers’ sweet clarity and underlying sincerity. Listen below.
Flowers’ debut album Do What You Want To, It’s What You Should Do is out 9/9 on Kanine/Fortuna Pop.