This EP is an expanded cassette reissue of what was originally a single. With exclusively available additional tracks in addition to the ones we already know and adore, it’s a fantastic reason to part with nine quid.
South London resident Flo Lines creates beautiful patchwork pieces composed of field recordings, found sounds, acoustic guitars, electronic elements, and more.
On the opening track, “I Was Bidding My Time,” she is paired with collaborator and co-writer Arthur Davies-Evitt. Both are on guitar here, and as the song’s almost seven minutes play out, they’re joined by many and varied other instruments, each adding depth and detail to what feels like a musical meditation, with standout contributions from Ollie Fox on violin and Emma Barnaby on cello.
After this comes The Only Thing Left Is—a thing of rare, delicate beauty. Comparisons to Laura Marling are inevitable, but we get the impression that both women were probably inspired by older English folk music of the 1960s and before. The backbone of this song is the acoustic guitar strumming. The vocal layers work in harmony with each other beautifully, and the subtle piano notes and arpeggiated guitar parts are wonderfully complementary additions. The inclusion of birdsong is a lovely touch and typical of Flo’s fascination with nature – it almost sounds like it could be the soundtrack to some of Flo’s film photography. By the time the song finishes, Flo has woven such a tapestry of sound that you nearly forget where you started – but that backbone is omnipresent and as crucial as ever.
On the other side of the tape are the exclusives we mentioned—first, an alternative version of the first track. I Was Bidding My Time (Rework) feels like a slow-motion fever dream; a ritualistic, hallucinatory song. It seems to melt gradually into your ears and form a cocoon of sound around you, which somehow manages to feel both disconcerting and comforting at the same time – it’s quite a different prospect from the version on Side A.
Tomorrow Feels Like We Are Getting Nowhere is up next and is a hazy piano-led piece. It shimmers and gleams with ingenuity, yet is also imbued with the authentic soul and spirit of artists as diverse as Vera Hall, Laurie Anderson, Nina Simone, and Joan Baez. As Flo references herself by quoting “I was bidding my time” repeatedly in amongst various lyric-less vocalisations, there’s a shrouded vulnerability and an artistic adventurousness here – and you can’t help but feel that they each feel slightly opposed to each other, but both undeniably leap out at you.
The Garden (Spring Instrumental) sees us out. There is a brief divergence into spoken-word territory, with Flo’s single line of poetry at the start of the piece intermingling with birdsong and the natural atmosphere. The soundscape is further complemented with what sounds a bit like a flute – although there isn’t one listed on the credits, so it can’t be. It’s an arresting piece of music. The grandiosity of the piano part is at odds with everything else, but they work wonderfully well together despite their apparent differences.
Flo’s music is a unique prospect. Unlike any other, she stitches together elements and aspects like audio collage, finding harmony and creating something that takes on a consequent new life of its own. A Frankenstein’s monster of sound, but altogether much, much more beautiful, of course.
The good people at Lost Map Records put out this release. We recently created a playlist and an accompanying blog dedicated entirely to them, which includes another song by Flo. It’s well worth an hour of your time. Check that out here.
Written by Kinda Grizzly
