White Flowers is a Preston, UK duo consisting of Katie Drew and Joey Cobb. They’ve released two previous 12” records, one of which includes a cover of a Red House Painters song (‘Katy Song’). Within A Dream is their new 4 track release, and this time they include a cover by Mama Cass called ‘Didn’t Want to Have to Do It’. The EP was produced by Ali Chant (PJ Harvey, Perfume Genius, Portishead) and meshes home and studio recordings seamlessly. The band tinkers with a mélange of noir pop and buzzy electronica.
The title track opens up in a haze of dreamy post punk with Katie’s breathless vocals. The lyrics seem to reflect the disillusionment and fragmentation in this weird, almost surreal pandemic we are all experiencing. It’s enthralling and a bit unnerving, and opens up possibilities for many other unique sounds. ‘Blue May’ is at a slower cadence, and I like the quiet, somewhat distorted vocals. It picks up a bit and adds gauzy layers, and you may find yourself floating away in a daydream. ‘You Caught Me’ is more closely akin to classic dream pop than the other songs, and it’s eminently listenable. I am comfortable in saying it’s the best song here, and reminds a bit of Beach House or even the Cocteau Twins. Stunning work!
The final track is the Mama Cass cover. Not having heard the original, I have no basis for comparison, but this sure is pretty. It fringes on soft psych as handled by the group, and I quite like the arrangement. It’s a bit of whimsy and was the perfect song to lower my stress levels.
In short, this is a fine EP from a promising young group. I hope to see a lot more from them.
