Flower Crown - Heat (2021) Hi-Res

With each new release since their 2016 debut, Hypnausea, Pittsburgh haze-poppers Flower Crown have seen their sound crystallize and inflate, gaining clarity—and band members—while reaching ever higher toward the stars. From the wistful, cottony daydreams of the now-quintet’s first few releases (created, duet-style, by founders Richie Colosimo and Aaron Mook) to the driving-at-sunset semi-anthems of 2019’s Sundries, the textures have only gotten richer, the vocal echoes more expansive, and the guitars more pearlescent. Heat, released in late September, is Flower Crown’s most demonstrative effort yet, as the group lifts its head further than ever out of the haze, establishing a buoyant, summery atmosphere that is by turns euphoric, defiant, romantic and melancholy.

Flower Crown, unlike some bands that fall under the amorphous “dreamy” umbrella, have always emphasized songcraft over pure atmosphere, eschewing dense sonic abstraction in favor of honeyed melodies and pop hooks, albeit ones adorned with glittering strands of guitar and plunged into pockets of endless sustain. In the past, though, even their most assertive tracks felt like they were swaddled in a weighted depression blanket, cocooned away while awaiting brighter days. On Heat, the blanket is kicked off; frontman Colosimo’s voice rises above the surrounding instruments as opposed to nestling amongst them, the drums veer into dancefloor territory, and lush synths evoke muggy August days spent on the beach.

Lead single “The Billy” may be Flower Crown’s purest expression of joy, its major key chords, blissful harmonies, and straightforwardly smitten lyrics (“Honeybee, be sweet to me/And I’m yours ‘til the end”) combining to form something that would fit on an indie rom-com-dram soundtrack. “Islands In The Sky,” a buzzed, yearning love letter that compares a significant other’s affection to “an island heat,” evokes images of California valleys and skies. “Through It,” a swaggering cut featuring turbocharged guitars and faint disco accents, sees Colosimo flip the bird to uptight naysayers (“We’re never sober/So what? […] We’re all going through it”), even venturing an ecstatic “Whoo!” at one point. The thundering snare hits, propulsive bass kicks, and exuberant vocal interjections of closer “King Cool” resemble Neon Trees’ airwave-conquering brand of glitz-rock. “Interlude” even contains a flute! The biggest standout, though, is the waltzing “All That You Ever Need,” a track that sounds unlike any of Flower Crown’s previous offerings. Aqueous guitars, swirling in dramatic arpeggios, provide backing for a swooning, biting vocal performance (“The light of the moon reflecting starlight/What a lie/Cliché beyond compare”); it’s like mid-90s Oasis slow-dancing inside of a massive kaleidoscope.

The lyrical and tonal ambivalence that marked Flower Crown’s earlier music remains, but the musical elements themselves now ring freely through the air. The band has emerged from its gauzy hibernation, wandering outside to gaze, dazed behind tinted shades, toward the sun. Heat is the sound of Flower Crown in full bloom.