Before I delve into the intricacies of this album, I should note that it was, “recorded over the course of a year in four different sessions with four different lineups” (as stated on the back of the promo). This rag-tag pack of artists is lead by Tim Kinsella, the only remaining original member. Some of you may remember Tim from the slew of other Midwestern indie projects he was involved with such as Cap’n Jazz and Owls.

The amount of albums that Tim has released over his musical career is almost astounding. Flowers is the tenth release from Joan of Arc, and it seems to be a bit of a celebration and amalgamation of every release this Kinsella brother has ever put out.

The album kicks off with an uncharacteriscally catchy song relying on electronic synthsizers. Only once you’re safely enveloped in Tim’s enchanted garden, where you have forgotten the weirdosity of Joan of Arc releases past,  does he start to screw with you. In comes a volley of loosely orchestrated instruments from the rest of the band. Somewhere in the middle there’s a chain of soundclips of famous countdown intros that goes into an upbeat number that sounds like it was written by a hitchhiking, classically trained cowboy that grew up in Omaha. At one point, I’m pretty sure I heard the twang of rubberbands being plucked.  The clean melodic guitar is just enough to chart a path through the playful confusion of the rest of the tracks. Listening to this album is kind of like seeing Tim’s life flash before your eyes, only you aren’t him, so some of it doesn’t make sense, but you’re voyeuristic so you enjoy the ride anyway.

-Amelia Devoid