''The Flowers Of Hell'' is the 2006 instrumental self-titled debut album from the experimental rock group

The Flowers of Hell The Flowers of Hell are a transatlantic experimental orchestra made up of a revolving line-up of 16 or so independent musicians based in Toronto and London. Their mostly instrumental sound builds bridges between classical music and post-rock, sh ...

. It was largely recorded by Tim Holmes of

Death In Vegas Death in Vegas are an English electronic music group, for which Richard Fearless serves as frontman. The band was formed in 1994 by Fearless and Steve Hellier and signed to Concrete Records under the name of Dead Elvis. Owing to an Irish record ...

at the Contino Rooms in London. Peter ‘Sonic Boom’ Kember of Spacemen 3 mentored the band through its creation, mixed and performed on the track 'Through The F Hole', contributed a liner note poem to the Japanese CD version, and guest deejayed at the record's London release concert. Band leader

Greg Jarvis Gregory Bruce Jarvis (August 24, 1944 – January 28, 1986) was an American engineer and astronaut who died during the destruction of the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' on mission STS-51-L, where he was serving as payload specialist for Hughes ...

has stated that the goal of the album was to build classical tangents from

The Velvet Underground & Nico ''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' is the debut album by the American rock band the Velvet Underground and German singer Nico, released in March 1967 through Verve Records. It was recorded in 1966 while the band were featured on Andy Warhol's Ex ...

and the Spacemen 3 / early Spiritualized sound. The record was initially released in the UK in 2006 by Earworm Records ( Spacemen 3, Bright Eyes,

Apples In Stereo The Apples in Stereo, styled as The Apples in stereo, are an American pop/rock band associated with Elephant 6 Collective, a group of bands also including Neutral Milk Hotel, The Olivia Tremor Control, Elf Power, Of Montreal, and Circulatory Sy ...

), followed by a release in Japan in 2007 by Starmole Records.

Critical reception

The album received coverage from a significant amount of UK press outlets including '' Q magazine'', '' Rock Sound'', ''

Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an enginee ...

'', '' The Evening Standard'', '' The Times'' and ''

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

'', along with feature interviews in Japan's major music magazines (''Loud'', ''

Rockin'On Japan ''Rockin'On Japan'', often stylized in all caps, is a monthly magazine that covers the Japanese music scene and various cultural events in Japan, such as art venues and culinary expos. History The magazine was founded in 1972, and focused on prov ...

''), and reviews from key US sites ('' Pitchfork'', '' AllMusic''). The release was praised for building on a unique combination of the sounds of the early Velvet Underground and the Flowers of Hell's Spacemen 3 mentors by adding strings and trumpets. Some reviews were critical that tracks meandered, yet all were in consensus that the record marked the arrival of a group to watch with '' The Times'' declaring it "classical music for shoegazers". BBC radio session recordings of the group performing songs from the album have continued to be aired on BBC 6 from 2007 through to the 2020s.

Track listing

# The Sunrise Retreat 3:07 # Opt Out 13:37 # Sympathy For Vengeance 7:47 # Foreign Lands 6:23 # Compound Fractures 3:56 # Through The F Hole 4:53 # The Joy Of Sleeping 3:46 # A Moment In Time 3:34 # Phase One Radiator 0:52 # Telescopic Suite 6:09 # ''Stand Easy 2:41 (Japanese bonus track)'' # ''Nostradamus 2:11 (Japanese bonus track)''

Performers

Band *Ruth Barlow – Ebow, Telecaster, Melodica, Hammond *

Abi Fry Abigail Helen Fry (born 1981) is an English violist and Bafta award-winning composer. She plays with various acts including Sea Power, Bat for Lashes, The Flowers of Hell, Sad Season and Euchrid Eucrow. Fry grew up in Ealing, West London and res ...

– Viola *Steve Head – Hammond, Piano, Telecaster, Bass *Tom Hodges – Tenor Saxophone, Saw, Flute, Bass Harmonica *Guri Hummelsund – Drums, Percussion, Vocals *Owen James – Trumpet, Cornet *

– Stratocaster, Bells, Ebow, Vocals *Barry Newman – Bass, Telecaster, Hammond Guests * Peter ‘Sonic Boom’ Kember – Vox Continental *Julian Lwin – Tablas *Tim Holmes – Tambourine

References

External links

www.flowersofhell.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flowers Of Hell Album 2006 albums The Flowers of Hell albums