Floral Music Group is delivering the content that we all need in the time of COVID-19. Collaboration is good for the soul and while we are all preparing to leave our isolation it is encouraging to see artists we enjoy already releasing music together.
Brett Stackhouse and John Wilson created Floral Music Group as a way to encourage working together with other like-minded artists. This encourages the production of music with a spirit that would not be present without collaboration. The Scales of Self Flight EP pairs up Floral Music Group’s creators Hunter J Wilson with Stackhouse’s acoustic project, Whiskey Waters.
Stackhouse and Wilson met nearly a decade ago when Stackhouse asked Wilson for advice about guitar playing. Since then, the two have worked together in the studio and played countless shows with separate bands and projects.
Wilson came through for Stackhouse when, after a bad breakup, Wilson came to visit him in Grand Manan. Together they formed this project to purge some of Stackhouse’s negative feelings.
“Hunter’s always been good like that,” says Stackhouse.
The record is framed with examples of found sounds. Well produced, they cohesively form their own ebb and flow that help us to further familiarize ourselves with the natural language of Whiskey Waters and Wilson’s music.
“Attachment Issues” is a winding road of a track with a ton of lyrical content and plenty of clean guitars highlighting 7th chord harmonies very gently. Its naiveté, squishy tones, and rolling rhythms make it great driving music and it’s deserving of a pastoral backdrop.
“Wilt Away” is a post-rock groove with a laid-back feel that delivers its vocals in song-speech with plenty of saccharine lyrics. If you like an earnest expression of longing this will impress you. Those who prefer a spoonful of irony to make their musical medicine go down may not find their fix here.
“Bury Me Now” has a unique feature in its approximation of a drum groove called the “Purdie Shuffle.” Created by James Brown alumnus Bernard Purdie, this distinctive beat is appropriated to great effect and creates a moody backdrop in its new post-rock context. Its emo-inspired lyrics provide a curious juxtaposition as well. It’s s rollicking rhythms and soft-bedding of jangly, reverb-washed guitars and laid-back feel give the lyrics a great deal of room to be pointed and cutting.
The Scales of Self-Flight is a worthwhile experiment in collaboration for these artists creating a sound that is uniquely different from the music of both artists taken alone. For fans of post-rock, emo and slacker rock, this collaboration will be a fruitful supplement for fans of Wilson and Stackhouse’s solo projects.