“Bruising, effortlessly ethereal and deeply tangible…an all-encompassing dreamscape” – So Young
After a little unavoidable delay, White Flowers’ debut album, Day By Day, is released today. Indeed, the band have walked a long and winding road getting to this point – writing for the album began several years ago when returning to their native Preston after studying art in London. In part, drawing inspiration from their stint in the capital the pair’s creative focus and direction was primarily sharpened by their experiences on reclaiming a place in the north.
Creating all of their artwork, visuals and overall aesthetic, they have built a world that stretches beyond the music alone – in an unusual circular fashion, this auteurist-like approach became a way of translating their environment and experiences into a form of escapism from the very place that inspired them. Hooking up with album producer Jez Williams also proved to be another creative breakthrough as the pair clicked artistically with the erstwhile member of Doves. Recording at his Manchester studio they built the album during on-off sessions across two years – sometimes leaving the studio for a couple of months to work on ideas, other times crafting the minutiae of details across all-night studio sessions.
The access to flexible studio time is telling, allowing the pair to develop an aesthetic that, whilst indebted to the various sounds that defined their youth, also leaned heavily into Kevin Shields’ droning wall of noise guitars, the palimpsestic hauntology of early Burial, and the ghost box sampleadelia of Boards of Canada. The result is an intuitive collection of songs augmented by Jez Williams’ impossibly diaphanous production and inspired by the constant upheaval of, well, the entire world. Consider Day By Day a salve of sorts to these anxious times.
Marking the release of the album, the band have recorded a short live session drawing on songs from Day By Day and the Within A Dream EP. Filmed recently in their rehearsal space, an abandoned textile mill in the centre of Preston, the film was directed and edited by Joel Maudsley, engineered, mixed and mastered by Joe Ramsden and also features visuals made by the band. Watch the full performance here.
Day By Day is available on all digital platforms, CD and limited edition blue vinyl. Worth noting that Rough Trade have signed copies of the LP and Record Store a very limited number of signed CDs also. The Dinked and Record Store vinyl exclusives sold out on day of announcement. Buy Here HERE
