“We are two friends from California making sounds we’re proud of (◡‿◡✿)”
“100% Organic,” Flower Bed exudes. This dreamy duo that you see above you is from the casual chilled-out central coast of California and consists of uke-performer and vocalist, Regen Williams along with guitarist and vocalist, Patrick Douglas. The San Luis Obispo (aka “SLO Town”) residents independently released their second EP on Saturday. Despite the delay in its release (album art can sometimes take a while), Even If You Don’t Know was well worth the wait! Since Februrary (when their first EP, Home Grown Demos was released), Flower Bed has greatly improved their coherence and listen-ability. For something fun, light, and satisfying be sure to check out the whole EP in the stream below:
Compassionate and rich, the lyrics sway among the undulations of strumming and plucking. The instruments tend to blend together as Williams’ voice lightly soars in a natural rhythm. The tone remains calm with the occasional dip into intensity. Yet, there seems to be a common theme between all the songs, something that was lacking in Home Grown Demos. A stark contrast between the vocalists and instrumentation provides a nice balance among the collection’s variations.
Flower Bed does a great job filling out their sound despite an apparent lack of focus on production. The music itself is much more put together than the last EP – taking cues from the head-bobbing, light-hearted indie-folk/pop that’s become oh-so-popular up and down the west coast. Of these tracks, “Spring Anthem” stands out the most as it clearly articulates the warmth and vibrancy that spring time often brings.
This is really making me miss California; which is why I am so attached to the lovely (and hopeful) track, “You, Me, & the Sea”. In this song, Douglas bears all in his most technically challenging track on the EP. In response, “Sinking of You” favors Williams as a vocalist with its tasteful addition of Patrick’s backup vocals that everyone can sing along to!
So listen-up and keep track of these guys! Their music, like a NorCal wine, only becomes better with age. Check ‘em out on Bandcamp, Soundcloud, Facebook, and Tumblr.
-DJ Desman