Flowers

Durand Jones & the Indications-related recordings were plentiful during the four years between Private Space and Flowers, the bands third and fourth LPs. Frontman Jones went on his first solo flight (Wait Til I Get Over), drummer and co-frontman Aaron Frazer made his second album (Into the Blue), and guitarist Blake Rhein did sessions with Michi and Neal Francis and recorded as Patchwork Inc. Additionally, keyboardist Steve Okonski formed a jazz trio with Frazer and Indications bassist Michael Montgomery, and they were two albums deep by the time Flowers arrived in June 2025. Aptly-titled romantic lead single "Been So Long" made it known that the Indications were refueled with enough ingenuity and nuance to continue setting themselves apart from the throwback pack while still openly referencing the past (in this case, William DeVaughns "Be Thankful for What You Got" and Refugee Camp All-Stars "The Sweetest Thing"). Contrary to the majority of the songs on Flowers, "Been So Long" is pared down. Much of what surrounds it is ornamented with strings, brass, and woodwinds, and further sweetened by a recurring corps of background voices. Nothing is overly ornate. For the most part, its a lowrider delight, all the way down to the weeping "Rust and Steel," where Jones compares the end of a relationship to a vehicular breakdown. Theres no uptempo disco-funk a la "Witchoo." Instead, plush, delightfully lazing ballads are the main mode, though "Really Wanna Be with You" -- featuring an eye-popping turn from Jones -- hits a proto-disco sweet spot between between Hi Records and Philadelphia International. Frazer puts his falsetto to best use on "Paradise," a bittersweet glider with echoes of Deniece Williams and Sylvia Striplin, and on the utopic and more rolling "Flower Moon." While Jones at his most gruff might uncannily recall David Ruffin or Teddy Pendergrass, those moments are fleeting, merely punctuative, and hes just as full of conviction when taking softer leads, as on "Lovers Holiday." Whats more, Jones and Frazer play brilliantly off one another here. The songs where they exchange leads, "I Need the Answer" and "Without You," have sharp contrast and deep resonance. ~ Andy Kellman

レトロ・ソウルの潮流を担う重要バンドから、メンバーのソロ作を挟んで4年ぶりの4作目が登場。〈大人びてセクシーで、ドライヴに似合う、ソウルとディスコのソフトな側面〉と公式資料にある通り、冒頭の"Paradise"からシャーデーとシルヴィア・ストリップリンの魔合体のような楽曲でマチュアなヴァイブを放つ。先行曲"Been So Long"もウィリアム・デヴォーン風の良曲……といちいち参照元を想像するのも野暮で、ドランドの塩辛声が切なく響くニューソウルや、アーロンの甘茶ファルセットが冴えるメロウ・ジャムまで、首尾一貫したスウィートな世界観にひたすら浸りたい快作だ。
bounce (C)池谷瑛子