FLORIST ~ CONTACT .... review

Florist is a somewhat strange name for a band especially one that describe their music as "riff heavy psychedelic swamp metal" but seeing as two members of the Desert Psychlist family are both hard working florists we will just assume that the name is a tribute to the art of floristry and quietly move on. Florist, however they came by their name, play the sort of music we lovers of a gnarly fuzz drenched riff thrive on, a raucous mix of heavy psych and stoner/hard rock fleshed out with elements of spaced out swirliness. The band hail from Tampa, Florida and boast a sound that fans of bands like Fu Manchu and early Nebula and to some extent Kyuss may have though they would never hear the like of again. it is, as we said on their Bandcamp page, a soundtrack to skateboard through wormholes to.

The band have just released their debut EP "Contact" and we think it is essential listening.

First track out of the bag is title track "Contact". it is not so much a song as a collection of experimental space related noises and it is soon followed by "Lift", three minutes plus of riff fuelled desert rock fuzziness driven by explosive drumming and growling bass and featuring some surprisingly bluesy lead work. Vocals for this track, and for that matter the rest of the EP, are delivered clean and strong in that same un-rock god semi shouty style that was a characteristic of  many of the bands starting out in those early days of the desert rock scene. "Signal" is up next and finds Florist adding an element of doominess into the mix, we say an element because although this is a much weightier tome than its predecessor it is not really what you would call dank or dark especially given that there are Hawkwind -esque swoops and swirls continuously weaving in out and around its deliciously fuzzy groove. "Dimensional comprehension sensory overload, Drink the stream of consciousness from which all life will flow" are the lyrics decorating next song "Dr. Rendezvous", these are pretty deep lyrics but they are delivered in a playful almost nursery rhyme meter against a background of groove that although heavy boasts an up-tempo bluesiness that you just can't help tapping your foot along to, this however does not detract from the songs lyrical depth it just makes that depth a touch more fun to wallow in. "Rover" is a joyous up beat romp around the cosmos with a chorus impossible not to sing along to and a groove that could get even a corpse up and dancing. Final number "I,AI" is a superb mix of spacious heavy psych, psychedelic doom, stonerized blues and hard rock with vocals delivered in an appropriately disembodied robotic meter, it is a pretty apt song given the fear and uncertainty currently surrounding the new technology.

Well thought out intelligent lyrical content married to infectious grooves that you could dislocate a shoulder throwing horns at is what you get with Florist's "Contact", the bands name might suggest cultivated flowers but their music is as wild and thorny as it comes

Check 'em out .... .   

  

© 2023 Frazer Jones

#"Contact" is available to download via all the usual digital platforms on 17th July 2023.