No spotters prizes for guessing why this got picked up for attention, we’re old school, odd looking vinyl, tasty looking sleeves, labels we’ve never heard of are usually the attractors that get our attention when we are off and about on record buying sprees or simple sound scouting expeditions around the net, in this case it was the bands name. dead flowers conjures – you’d hope – something special, perhaps something deep psyche or loosely wired garage. As it happens on this occasion – its something rather more stoked in a smoking majesty which apart from instantly recalling the likes of the Tindersticks, the palace brothers and a bit of Leonard of the Cohen variety had us a glow in the kind of feel good vibe that you imagine would befall you upon a visitation from some heavenly being. Had us cowed in floods of tears I don’t mind admitting and was the sole cause of us reacquainting ourselves with a lost childhood love – that being the rooting out of our copy of the ‘paint your wagon’ soundtrack namely for the classic show stealing afforded by Lee Marvin’s bruising ‘wandering star’ spot. Out on the hee haw imprint shortly, Dead Flowers ‘midnight at the wheel club’ promises to put classically turned in Americana back on the affectionate map, the album faultless is heralded by ’the beach’ currently doing the rounds as the lead off single. What can I say, deeply intimate, hurting and shrouded in a souring glow that tenderly creaks and yawns to a hymnal reverence of monochromatic wheezing strings and organs all headed up by a vocal that sounds as though its being fermenting in the finest bourbon these last 30 years making Tom Waits sound positively upbeat and choir boy like. We hang fire with a full album review until we get a proper CD copy – can’t be done with these sound cloud links as much we love them for convenience we hopelessly forget and lose them.
the sunday experience 