Flower Hell of the Next / Physical God 7″
FLOWER is old school. They walk the walk, and it feels good to have a band that values the proper anarcho-punk lifestyle and politics over Instagramability. Speaking of which, we should all be grateful no one has come up with a crust filter yet. That would just be the official end of punk. The first album of these New Yorkers, Hardly a Dream, took our microcosm by surprise and by storm. Was a band ever quite as bombarded with NAUSEA comparisons? Probably not, but then there are much worse bands to be compared to. Anticipation and expectations were quite high regarding the follow-up and, where most bands would have gone for a cleaner, rounder sound, which would be a logical step, a conventional progression, FLOWER decided to go crustier and rawer. That’s probably a poor career choice, but one that I salute solemnly. The basis of the music remains the same, rooted in dirty, old school metallic crust with Danny’s half-shouted, half-spoken vocals conveying a serious anarcho-punk vibe—I am reminded of NAUSEA obviously, and of ’90s crusty anarcho bands like RESIST AND EXIST or HOMOMILITIA at times, at least in terms of intent—giving FLOWER an original edge and emphasizing the political nature of their lyrics, which you can actually understand (you won’t need a Grizzli dictionary here). Musically, this is pretty much heaven for me, if angels wore crust pants. The late ANTISECT influence prevails here, and FLOWER manages to recreate that primitive, dark metal punk vibe with ease. The production is raw but still highlights the interplay of the instruments, and the music is not lacking in aggression. There is a cracking atmospheric introduction on “Physical God,” top chugging riffs, and some creepy bass lines that make me think that early EXTINCTION OF MANKIND, SKAVEN, and weed must have been involved in the creative process. The 7” has one long crust song on each side, rather traditionally, and comes in an impressive foldout cover (drawn by guitar hero Willow) displaying in great details a nightmarish and demented (post)modern war-obsessed dystopia, full of dark symbolism befitting a tortured and abused world. Both the music and the visuals complement one another, expand the meaning and contribute to telling a great punk story. A very strong and cohesive single.