I bought "Flowermouth" on the back of hearing “Simple” on a demo CD given away with a magazine in 1994. I kept coming back to the song and every time I heard it, I loved it more. I bought the album on a trip into town one weekday and little did I know my life was about to change.
Historically, one of my only laments about this album was that I didn't own it on vinyl. However, I have recently managed to acquire a copy of the double LP at a reasonable price and can review it here.
The first track "Angel gets caught in the beauty trap" opens with a distinctive harp theme that gives way to the superlative piano and strings which haunt this piece. Bowness’s vocal moves in almost unnoticed like any other musical instrument, “I can not dream for the dirt on my hands”. Ambience and subtlety abound. By the time the songs ends you have just experienced nearly 10 minutes of bliss.
"You grow more beautiful" kicks off with beats that will satisfy your yearning for something different. The song moves between dance, rock and the avant-garde in a way no other can. This would have been a great single but I get the feeling One Little Indian had given up on the band by the time this album was released.
Having had your ambient song and your upbeat (ish) single we move on to the kitchen sink drama in the form of "Animal Ghost". Rumbling TR-808 rhythms keep an almost electro edge to a song which even manages to incorporate a flute solo. There's a funky bassline on the brilliant "Soft Shoulders" and the lyrics to "Shell of A Fighter" are endearing and mystifying at the same time.
"Simple" is the song that started my love affair with this album. Bowness and Wilson felt this was an ordinary pop song until Robert Fripp became involved. Personally I think it would be a masterpiece with or without him. The Lisa Gerrard sample is exactly what you would expect; haunting. The thumping beats combine with the superlative synth lines to make a perfect piece of music. The lyrics are on another level; “No more dreams turn into armchairs again”. The strange thing is, I know exactly what he means; it’s so simple. Things round out with the lament of "Things change" which is sorrowful and touching.
I love this album and this record is one of the most treasured items in my collection. There hasn't been a repress of this record since it was released in 1994, but I don't love this record simply because it is rare; I cherish it because of the music it contains. More recent CD pressings contain remixes of some songs that were created in 1999. So whilst I pray for a new pressing, I would prefer it to contain the 'right' mixes. 5/5
UPDATE NOVEMBER 2024: So there has now been a reissue of this album (I like to think my pestering of the record company on X had something to do with it), but predictably they have used the 1999 remixes and the credits on the sleeve seem to be wrong in places. On the plus side it is available on red vinyl and comes with a free poster. So now we can all hear this this beauty from vinyl; you have no excuse.
