Flower Machine - Chalk Dust Dream of the Tea Cozy Mitten Company

  by Anthony Strutt

published: 11 / 4 / 2004

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In my life, I have reviewed many records, but this new one by the Flowewr Machine along with Astrid Young's albums has got up my nose the most. The cover looks badly dated, like something out of someone's 1970's attic, where frankly it should have stayed. The album lasts 28 minutes and has a mere 11 songs. The songs last anything from 5 seconds up to 5 minutes. Mostly the album is acoustic and at times twee. The vocals sound a lot like those of Neil Halstead and the band have a Mojave 3 feel, but as if Mojave 3 have fallen into a psychedelic Beatles 'Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'/'Yellow Submarine' jam jar. That for me isn't really, being creative at all. The vocals are pleasant, the music is very well played, but this is just not my sort of thing at all. At least Oasis at least try to update the Beatles in some form of meaningful way. The third track, 'T'he Sea is a Mellotron Trampoline' sounds like George Harrison 'Blue Jay Way' from 'Magical Mystery Tour' while lasting only 9 seconds. 'I am the Coelacanth' does have a great funky 60's bass line, but sounds like Belle and Sebastian, and so very twee. 'I Control the European Industrial Forest' is interesting for the 30 seconds it lasts and sounds like it has escaped from a horror film.The rest is very druggy indeed . It ends with 'Bluebirds' which sounds at least as if it belongs to this era and is better because of it, but really the Flower Machine need to get their hairs cut, and to join the new century.

Track Listing:-

1 Live Oak Road
2 In the Glow
3 The Sea is a Mellotron Trampoline
4 I am the Coelacanth
5 It's So Nice
6 I Control the European Industrial Forest
7 L.A. in the Rain
8 How to Fly an Aeroplane
9 Why Not Stop and Have Some Tea
10 British Rail
11 Bluebirds

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