There was a time when indie rock had balls. I’m talking about before the irony, the disassociated stance, and the bands that played at a party you’d never be invited to. Bands with crashing drums, cranky, guttural guitar tones, and heart. Music born as much of Embrace and Rites Of Spring, as it was Black Flag and The Stooges. Bands like Lungfish, Lubricated Goat, Gas Huffer, Jesus Lizard, they all had one or more of these elements in what they did. It was music with heart, but also balls.
It’s been a long time since a band has captured that mix of emotional connection, and solid rock potential. Cue Empty Flowers, an east coast band bringing that entire idea back to the fold with their new album Five. Those expecting to hear the slightly noisier elements of the band’s initial release, Six, might want to brace themselves. Empty Flowers have captured some solid pop influences here. They’ve expanded their songwriting, relying less on noise and more on hooks. The guitars are scratchy, the bass heavy, the drums pounding, and they all serve the vocals, which is the glue holding the emotional core together.
Opening with the title track, Empty Flowers waste no time in showing off their new embrace of the catchy riff. “Five” is all groove. The swagger and attitude, blast for the first two minutes, before Christian McKenna’s vocals drop. McKenna’s delivery is odd, a combination of high intelligence and art-school anger. He won’t punch you, but he will write a very biting slab of lyrics about how much you suck. As McKenna’s emotional mood hits peaks and valleys, the band stays with him. “I Get To Know It’s Name” is a riff driven post-punk slab of excellence. The kind of tune Wire would kick themselves for not writing. As the first single, it’s a nice overview of what Empty Flowers is going for.
“Lousey Phil” is a bonafide radio friendly unit shifter. This is the Foo Fighter, million-seller, jam. I can picture ten thousand twentysomethings singing along at the low points, and then exploding into a unified hop when the chorus comes in. If this song doesn’t make them rich, nothing will. “Carfires” is an alt-country gem in the vein of Uncle Tupelo or Mule. “The Water” returns Empty Flowers to their comfortable post-punk arena. “Quit” is a High Rocktane track. The drums use a heavy tom-tom pattern to hold up another super, catchy, riff. “Quit” is the tune that should have ended the album.
Bringing me to the bad news. Not everything is perfect on Five. “Time Feeds The Dose” is just bad. It’s like the band raided The Killers’ dumpster. “Trained Not To Worry” returns Empty Flowers to the heavier, buzzsaw-guitar songs from the album Six. It doesn’t work here at all. It feels out of place, as if the band needed one more song so they saddled up an old one. Having filled Five with such catchy, hook-drive riffs, “Trained Not To Worry” is a plodding, boring, clunker that has no business here.
Aside from those stumbles, Empty Flowers brings back a better era of loud, noisy guitar rock. McKenna’s voice is the secret weapon, his delivery and lyrics keep Empty Flowers out of the dangerous “college rock” malaise. If you like your emotional rock with more punch and less whimpering, give Five, and Empty Flowers, your undivided attention.
