Flower Man is not a name that I have ever heard before, but this recently released C30 on Catholic Tapes piqued my interest in a major way, so I did some minor detective work (aka: googling). The results show that Flower Man is the solo project of one Chris Bush, Kentucky resident and co-conspirer of the Caboladies project, along with Eric Lenham. I also suspect, though with less certainty, that Bush has something to do with the label Smooth Tapes. Further research is needed for more conclusive information. For now I'll stick with the hard evidence that I've got right in front of me, that being "Another Ozone Hex".I've been on a steady diet of murk lately, so Flower Man might be the most musical thing I have heard in days. I can't think of a much better way to emerge out of the swamp of feedback and crud than the aura of serenity that F.M. brings to the table. Many attempt this style after picking up a copy of Oldfield's "Tubulur Bells" at a Goodwill or after smoking a bowl and listening to some Tangerine Dream with Big Trouble In Little China on mute, but I rarely hear anyone pull it off this awesomoradically. The A side is split up into three tracks, the first being Sundosed, where Bush opens the tape with a heavily solid start. As he repeats several layers of airy notes on synths, layers that switch back and forth to be the front runner of the track, jangled cut-ups scratch at the speakers, creating a dopey and agitated labyrinth of texture. A breeze of "Whomp Whomp Whomp Whomp... Whimp Whimp Whimp Whimp..." creeps out from behind walls, merging with the nocturnal, wobbly trance, then fade things out. Keenland, the middle child of the side, lays out a glazed abstraction for more prominent elements to ride on. Though a bit on the shorter side of things, Bush still manages to get his point across as a fluctuation of haze slowly ripples like an ocean of vapors, laying the groundwork for mild tapping and horn-like intonations to represent a rhythmic bias to the rolling glitter. I'd stick away from calling it a juxtaposition, as things go together so well. It's more of a peanut butter and jelly rather than peanut butter and someone with a peanut allergy. No clashes. No rashes. The track fades out with a sampling of rainfall before Upperstairs Starecase comes in, which is either a misspelling or a pun that needs explaining. In any event, the final track on side A didn't do what it's predecessors accomplished. A similar exercise of combining pulsing tones and sonic warble, as Sundosed did, was attempted, but with a much lesser degree of effort. Notes tended to feedback and sounded shrill, but as the track lasted only a minute or so, it didn't have much of a negative impact. May have been a good idea just to leave that inkling of space blank on the tape.
Side B opens with The Dye Doom Ribbon, which waste no time forging an amazon-esque, drugged state. Chris Bush somehow fits a massive amount in a tiny space (TDDR clocks in a at a mere two minutes) as he conducts a bizarre and brilliant space jungle opus. A frantic collection of bubbles and crickets, swampy whizzing, and organic throbs buzz back and forth as if you licked the toad. Not a toad, but THE toad. It's a short high, but one of the better ones. A letter asking Chris to change the title to The Tie-Dyed Doom Ribbon will be in the mail shortly, I just need to have it notarized. This track is a definite departure from bliss trips that Bush has been traveling thus far, but a return in top form flows right in with the final track, Wonder What You Are, and it is by far the valedictorian here. Co-opting the remainder of the cassette, and with good reason, Wonder What You Are is a detailed, cerebral track utilizing chimes, hypnotic drones, and clinically stunning ambiance. It's vivid essence is, in a word, euphoric. I couldn't think of a much better way to close the curtain on such a fantastic tape, or provide a road map to calmness.After spending last night, and the majority of my morning, listening to "Another Ozone Hex" I only have one concern; that this dude is a douche bag. Seriously, this tape is fucking awesome, and I could imagine someone who can hash out tunes like this to be quite the dick. Of course, this C30 is on Catholic Tapes, run by the bro-diggity Brett Naucke (Face Worker, Slave Trade, etc.), so he's probably a cool dude, ala Billy Zane. And just a precaution in case he is a jerk, Upperstairs Starecase wasn't that good, dude. What? What!?
The full color artwork for "AOH" is simple and placed into the Catholic Tapes template, which for the latest batch, means a black and white spine with the artist's name only. Looks nice on the shelf, no doubt about that. Black lines divide all of the segments of the jcard, which is somewhat of a downer, but the fact that it's consistent throughout the C.T. discography sort of makes it okay. A full color label on the A side of the clear cassette rounds off a nice package. This was made in an edition of 75 copies and is (as if it's not clear by now) highly recommended. (MAH)
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