White Flowers - Are You EP

First new material from the Preston duo since the release of their debut album back in June 2021, which sees them seemingly double down in both directions - there's two vocal-led tracks which are as immediate and melodic as anything they've previously done, and another two opaque instrumentals that suggest compelling alternative avenues of enquiry. For a young band, you'd hope for little less, though White Flowers seem to be developing a very striking sonic identity. The title track is an especially bold statement, a class-conscious reflection on outsider identity with Fontana-era Cocteaus forlornness and a surge into the chorus that feels unquestionably expert. Of the two instrumentals, Singular might be the one that best makes gestures towards future paths, a ghostly, droning swirl that would sound easily at home on the outer edges of golden period Kranky. Dreampop? Shoegaze? Maybe, but with its own silhouette emerging out of the ether.