Talent is talent, but when presented in a sloppy shape, it becomes contagiously charming, and an adorable band name can only boost that perception. This is the lesson we have learned today via Brooklyn’s quintet Flower Girl, who play some kind of lo-fi twangy pop and have been around for longer than we expected (their debut album was out in 2013). Their latest, sophomore LP, entitled Okie Dokie Howdy Doody came out in the summer of 2015 and it’s a very solid, uber-amiable work, full of delicate melodies and qurky moments, that re-elaborates the disorderly genius of Syd Barret and the (early) Beta Band, marrying it with the not-so-traditional approach to… traditional American music of Neil Young and late Camper Van Beethoven. Based on an odd time signature, opening single "Scary Drive" (streaming) is a scruffy, limpy alt-country number a la’ Beck that will make you crack a smile – which is always priceless. Following track "A Platypus" starts as a plodding blues but gradually accelerates in ways only The Feelies could conceive, slowly morphing into a delirious slacker rock tune. Third song Eat Worms flirts again with blues but develops in a gentle, idyllic melody reminiscent of the Flaming Lips at their most tear-inducing – although the lyrics "come to terms/eat that worm that’s feeding you" might conflict with a weeping mood. The remarkable variety of the twelve tracks, with textural ballads like "Romantic Mood" juxtaposed to punkish numbers like "Stop Starin’," doesn’t mine the band’s identity, rooted in an "anything goes" attitude that’s refreshingly unpretentious.
Flower girl will be performing live at Palisades on December 2nd and at Alphaville on December 11th.