what’s better than a good mystery? when i first saw Fleurs’ music on bandcamp, i couldn’t find any of the usual social media links or descriptions. the album, Life of the Appetite, seemed to have just appeared on the site, with little-to-no information about who made it or the circumstances that led to it being made. what’s’ more is that Life of the Appetite didn’t sound like some dashed-off indie recording. no, it sounded incredibly well-produced, arranged, and mixed. what Fleurs a band? or just one person? was this their first album? it certainly sounded too full, too realized to be a debut. the attached name, “A. Falconer”, sounded like it could easily be a pseudonym. so who was it? no one else seemed to immediately have answers.
over time, the picture started to come together. some of that story is covered in an audio interview i did with Fleurs (so go check that out!), but in essence: “A. Falconer” is a gentleman named Alex who had recently moved to New Haven, and Fleurs was the name of his songwriting project. a full band would come later. as it turns out, he’s not as menacing or dark as the narrator of Life of the Appetite. or, perhaps i should correct that: he’s not outwardly as menacing or dark. the gothic, grimy, sticky lyrics of that record came from the raw id of Falconer, and Fleurs is an exercise where he can wear his id on his sleeve. the music is loud and instantly gratifying; it’s aggressive; it’s sexual; it’s hungry; it’s hedonistic. and now almost exactly one year later, Fleurs puts that mask on once more with Shut Up, a new album.
Shut Up is everything that you’d want in a sequel. it keeps all of what you might love from Life of the Appetite, but it changes those elements enough to feel new, to keep you guessing, and to surprise you. the biggest change, in my view, is how much more assertive Shut Up comes across. part of that, undoubtedly, has been shaped by the experience of working in a live band. these songs, even though they were recorded independently and effectively solo, feel like they would adapt well to the stage. tracks are loud and dynamic. this record lets go of some of the pop elements that made Life of the Appetite hypnotic, and in their place is a sense of wild, abrasive energy. Falconer’s voice colors outside the lines of a verse, his beats are distorted, noise loops are featured more prominently, and his guitar erupts like a shattering window. the villainous antihero of Fleurs’ debut is more powerful, closer to the surface, and Falconer seems to be having a blast exercising that identity.
here are my three favorite moments from Shut Up:
“sophomores”: easily one of my favorite song openings of 2019. the opening minute allows Fleurs to work up a lather, as a distorted guitar progression adds upon a noise loop, building and building until you can barely stand the tension. and once it lets up, Falconer presents what is essentially a seduction poem in the disguise of a rock song. the finale of “sophomores” comes after a relatively quiet period, allowing the song to get its loudest and most chaotic, like an explosion. hmm, i’m sure the sexual allegory here is just a coincidence, right?
“louvre”: an excellent goth rock track, “louvre” pulls off the impossible by having an incredible bassline, an incredible guitar line, and an incredible vocal melody all happening without ever feeling overstuffed or over-complicated. the part that is most surprising, however, is the moment at 2:35 when the arrange pauses for… beatboxing? yet, it fits perfectly in the context of the song, as Falconer scats his way through a bar of the song (seeing this live is wildly entertaining).
“shut up”: in an album full of surprises, Shut Up continues to offer up unexpected twists all the way up to its final moments. in the closing title track, Falconer’s previously-grizzled voice takes on a smooth croon, evoking comparisons to a non-pretentious Morrissey. and in that final two minutes, a blaring brass section allows him to swagger his way down the street, “I think it’s time for me to… I think it’s time to…”, not allowing himself to admit it’s time to go home. and in the final second of the song (and the record), the phrase is completed with “shut up.” with that, the over-sexed, hedonistic, villainous character that we’ve spent the past half-hour with is banished back beneath the surface.
but don’t worry. he’s not truly gone. he’s still there, waiting for the next album — or live show — to claw his way back to the microphone.
