To compare Black Bouquet to My Chemical Romance seems trite. However, the breathy distance of Violet O is quite comparable to MCR‘s Gerard Way, and the band behind these vocals soars just as well, blending between operatic shades of The Killers by way or a less gothic Robert Smith.
Black Bouquet is a six-piece band from Raleigh, North Carolina consisting of viola, guitar, synths, drums, bass and vocals. The band formed in 2017 and has developed a sound that wholeheartedly mixes 80’s synthetic jamming, early 2000’s indie rocker chic and the baroque detailed arrangements of sludgy modern art rock. To call them Vintage Hot Topic would be too accurate, considering the fact these guys sound like a band that deserve to open for all their heroes before them.
Take a listen for yourselves, and, if you’re a former rundown mall-core teenager, bask in the glory of a group unafraid to release music from what seems like another time.
This album was engineered by John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth, Nothing) which was fucking smart of Black Bouquet to do. Agnello’s history of salvaging sounds of bands on the brink of a come up or a return to form is legendary, and here, he assembles an already airtight conceptual group with the sonic capabilities they rightfully deserve. I really love this album, even when certain melodies and ideas are repeated, because of how unapologetic this band is in their careful appreciation for emo, gothic, morality-battled grace.
This entire project is a story of dire survival from grief, told through the eyes and in the words of deadened dead-end lovers. With themes of struggling to obtain self worth amidst personal traumas, tragedies, and loss, the band is in synch with each other the same way Black Sabbath were when Ozzy was snorting fire ants on newly-refurbished street pavement. Let’s hope that chronology continues.
“Pray To The Knife” is the closer track, as well as the song this album is named after. At first I was surprised to see this dead last, but as the old idiom goes, “save the best for the critics who get goosebumps over guitar lines that melt souls.” At least I think that is how it goes. Echoing the Bunnymen, Brandon Flower’s first rate emotional volatility, and a backing beat that would make Keith Moon smile from drunken drug-absorbed heaven, it perfectly encapsulates a band that lives to take the old sounds of top rock radio, twist them, reshape them, and release them with something new for their listeners.
The album drops 16 February 2024. I sincerely hope you give it a chance.
