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Flourish // Perish

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Untitled

Flourish // Perish is the second studio album by the Canadian experimental pop/art rock band Braids and was released by Arbutus Records, Full Time Hobby and Flemish Eye on August 20, 2013.[1]

Background

Writing and recording

Writing for the album began in 2011, when the band debuted unreleased new songs while touring their first album, Native Speaker. Of the songs played on the tour, Victoria and In Kind survived to be included on Flourish // Perish. The band spent much of 2012 recording the album in Montreal. Keyboardist Katie Lee departed the band at an unspecified point during the year,[2] though she features extensively on the album.[3] The band opened up about the direction of their second album in May 2012, hinting it would be electronic-based.[4] In April 2013, Raphaelle Standell-Preston revealed the band had abandoned guitars and that closing track In Kind (performed live with guitars on the Native Speaker tour) is the only song on the album to feature the instrument.[5] Mixing for the album was completed in January 2013,[6] with the mastering handled by Harris Newman at Grey Market Mastering in February.[7] The album title and tracklist were announced in May 2013.[8] The album was preceded by the In Kind // Amends EP, released on June 11.[9]

Musical style and influences

When asked about the band's new sound, Raphaelle Standell-Preston stated "We made up a genre called natural electronica. Natural components making up electronic music. Like the voice and drums, more organic elements combined with electronic. We are very much electronic in the way we composed the last record, using the computer. Aside from the drums and my voice it’s all super synthesized. Natural electronica".[10] The singer explained that the band's stylistic change evolved because "over the two years that we toured Native Speaker, we became really heavily into and inspired by electronic music, we listened to so much of it. It's strikingly beautiful, it's very amazing and to me it reflects where we have gone to as a human race in 2013 and our involvement with the iPhone and laptops and everybody being interconnected".[11] The band cited Baths, Azeda Booth, Aphex Twin, Autechre, Radiohead, Portishead, Max Cooper, Stephen Bodsen, Pantha du Prince, Born Gold and a number of Warp Records artists as influences for the album.[12]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]
Consequence of Sound[14]
Drowned in Sound[15]
Pitchfork Media(7.1/10)[16]
New Musical Express[17]
Q[18]

Upon its release, the album received generally good reviews from music critics. Aggregating website AnyDecentMusic? reports a score of 7.5 based on 11 professional reviews.[19]

Credits

  • Raphaelle Standell-Preston - guitar, lead vocals
  • Katie Lee - keyboard, vocals
  • Austin Tufts - drums, vocals
  • Taylor Smith - bass, guitar, samples, percussion, vocals

Track list

No.TitleLength
1."Victoria" 
2."Fruend" 
3."December" 
4."Hossak" 
5."Girl" 
6."Together" 
7."Ebben" 
8."Amends" 
9."Juniper" 
10."In Kind" 

References

  1. ^ http://www.contactmusic.com/press/braids-announce-new-album-flourish
  2. ^ Lester, Ryan (2013-03-15). "SXSW Music: Braids and Savages". Austinist. Retrieved 2013-05-31.
  3. ^ http://exclaim.ca/News/braids_return_with_in_kind_amends_12-inch_open_up_about_lineup_change_new_electronic_direction
  4. ^ Noel, Alyssa (2012-05-03). "Braids Go Darkly Digital For New Album". SPIN. Retrieved 2013-05-31.
  5. ^ http://exclaim.ca/News/braids_return_with_in_kind_amends_12-inch_open_up_about_lineup_change_new_electronic_direction
  6. ^ Braids (2013-01-18). "Back in and mixing. Phew. Little fire. We will finish the record today". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2013-05-31.
  7. ^ Braids (2013-02-21). "Mastering the record today". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2013-05-31.
  8. ^ http://pitchfork.com/news/50902-braids-announce-new-album-flourish-perish-share-new-track-in-kind/
  9. ^ http://arbutusrecords.com/?p=2570
  10. ^ http://nbhap.com/interviews/braids/
  11. ^ http://exclaim.ca/News/braids_return_with_in_kind_amends_12-inch_open_up_about_lineup_change_new_electronic_direction
  12. ^ http://nbhap.com/interviews/braids/
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference allmusic was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Arroyo, Steven (Aug. 22, 2013). "Album Review: Braids - Flourish // Perish". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved Aug. 22, 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  15. ^ Marcus J. Moore. Flourish // Perish review. drownedinsound.com
  16. ^ Flourish // Perish review. - pitchfork.com.
  17. ^ Flourish // Perish review. - NME.
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference Q was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ "Braids - Flourish // Perish". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
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