More often than not, my biggest complaint with a large number of the revivalist post-punk that has come out in recent years is that it isn’t dark enough. This is not a complaint here. Chain of Flowers is fairly honest in their despondence and are not pretending it’s Halloween. Their brand of darkness is best felt in the shadowy take on new wave brought to life on “Glimmers of Joy.” While this song would not be out of place at the Bat Cave, clove cigarettes are optional. Right from the first song where the unison chant of the vocals keeps this band out of their peers’ reach, this band from Cardiff has set themselves apart from the rest of the bandwagon. The hollow cavern the effected guitar creates sets the stage for the more foreboding urgency that is the album’s lifeblood. The bass is buried under the echo until stomping on the overdrive. The more “shoegaze” side of the band doesn’t try to hypnotize you with sonic drone, they put the songs first and keep their jagged frequencies jabbing you with motion. It moves in such an unrelenting fashion that the first three songs steamroll together in a wall of sound.
They capture the glum British sound of the 80’s without coming across as contrived. The vocals are varied from song to song. Often doubled and harmonized is a despondent chorus of voices. They are melancholy in their dead-pan delivery, while still offering hints of melody. The guitar has ethereal qualities without lacking balls, proving to be capable of building into an almost Cult-like rock swagger on the simmering “Bury My Love”; this song’s raw momentum demands more of a punk sneer from the vocals. The first hint of what we would eventually come to know as goth rises from the smoky “Colour / Blind.” The bass tone is dead on for what they are doing and anchors the more atmospheric ringing of the guitar. There is a more ragged dissonance to “Follow” indulging in the chaos of their noisy side without losing you in the abrasion. The vocals step out of the spotlight and sit back in the murk step out. The closing song “Drained” reminds me a little of Stone Roses, but devoid of any Brit pop aspirations.
It’s no surprise this band has shared the stage with Iceage, Eagulls and Nothing, as fans of those acts would be able to find plenty of common ground sonically. Unlike many of their touring partners, Chain of Flowers is not as cemented into the punk side of the equation, and paints the backdrop of their songs with the kind of 80’s art house experimentation that adorned new wave albums that stayed on the fringe of their more radio friendly dance club icons of the time. This album was released back in October, the cassette version was limited to 100 copies and is sold out, but the album is still available on vinyl and as a digital download via their Bandcamp.
Chain Of Flowers North America & Canada Tour 2016
AUGUST:
9th: Narducci’s Café, Bakersfield
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10th: Las Vegas
11th: 51 West, Tempe
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13th: Berserktown Festival
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15th: Arlene Francis Center, Santa Rosa
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16th: San Francisco
17th: Dynamite Vinyl, Fresno
18th: Black Water, Portland
19th: Olympia
20th: Nuthole, Seattle
23rd: Boot & Saddle, Philadelphia
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24th: Nothing Changes, New York
25th: Siren Records, Doylestown
26th: Washington
27th: Pittsburgh
28th: Chicago
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29th: Now That’s Class, Cleveland
30th: The Crown, Baltimore
31st: New York
SEPTEMBER:
1st: Boston
2nd: Casa del Popolo, Montreal
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3rd: Faith / Void, Toronto
