Florry – Sounds Like…
Nearly every moment of a Florry album sounds like it could tumble completely off the rails, and that’s largely by design. Singer-songwriter Francie Medosch’s lyrics aren’t about quiet, delicate moments, but the intentional loudness of living queer, surrounded by a few close friends and allies, and finding your place in the world with absolutely zero apologies. Florry’s second full band record, Sounds Like…, builds on the shambolic, Stones-y promise of their 2023 album, The Holey Bible, while throwing even more big guitar riffs on the fire, making this album one of this summer’s most satisfying listens.
Sounds Like… starts off with an absolute ripper, the nearly seven-minute, solo-filled “First it was a movie, then it was a book.” Lyrically, the song has Medosch, in the wake of The Holey Bible’s critical success, confronting something approaching fame for the first time – “Well last night I watched a movie/Movie made me sad cos I saw myself in everyone, how’d they make a movie like that?” The song is far from a lament, though – it’s frenetic and full of ever-faster guitars (Medosch and John Murray trade leads across the album, but on this track, the scorchers are all Medosch). The bulk of the songs on the record, though, stick closer to the young adult stuff that most of us went through (even if it takes some of us a little longer to remember back that far). Sounds Like…’s first single, “Hey Baby,” is a jangly, age-old query – is this the right person for me?: “Are ya deep or do I just love you too much?”
Medosch hails from the Philly area, and Sounds Like… was recorded in Asheville, but the album also echoes the up-and-coming alt scene of Burlington, Vermont, home to Lily Seabird and Greg Freeman (Medosch recently relocated there, and actually lives at Trash Mountain, the titular home for Seabird’s excellent latest record). “Truck Flipped Over ‘19,” in particular, sounds like something that would pull you into a grungy, DIY venue – drawn in by the layers of guitars and staying for Jon Cox’s pedal steel, Will Henriksen’s twangy fiddle and Medosch’s nightmare-fuel storytelling – “I knew from my dread/That driver was dead/Cos the truck crashed down on its left side where the driver sat.” “Big Something” has a happier tale to tell, with Katya Malison’s harmony vocals lending promise to what might turn out to be an OK relationship – “The angels tell me I have been through so much/But that’s okay cos I love a girl that’s tough.”
Sounds Like… wraps with the kind of song that could end up on country radio if, well, they still played country music. With fiddle and pedal steel (the latter, on this track, from Kyle Gnadinger), the song is equal parts regret and optimism, summarized in the lines “You don’t know what you’re doin’/And all the things you think don’t matter/Are coming back and they’re coming back faster/One of these days you’re gonna be amazed.” For Florry, the regrets are relatively few – even with their influences firmly adhered to their sleeves, Medosch and Co. are more concerned with pushing musical boundaries merely by doing whatever the hell they want to do. Loudly, unapologetically, and (unconventionally) beautifully.
Song I Can’t Wait to Hear Live: “First it was a movie, then it was a book” – the video, composed of rodeo scenes from a randomly-obtained VHS tape and performance clips from Philly’s famed Johnny Brenda’s, summarize the band at its best – somehow, both expansive and claustrophobic. And, most importantly, LOUD.
Sounds Like… was produced by Francie Medosch with Colin Miller, engineered by Miller (additional recording by Adam Bairstow, Lucas Knapp and Heather Jones), mixed by Jones and mastered by Carl Saff. All songs written by Medosch (“Hey Baby” written with Eli Sheppard). Musicians on the album include Medosch (vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, castanets, C harp), John Murray (electric guitars), Joey Sullivan (drums, percussion), Collin Dennen (bass), Jon Cox (pedal steel, banjo), Will Henriksen (fiddle, mandolin, piano, organ, clavinet, organ), Katya Malison (backup and harmony vocals), Victoria Rose (harmony vocals), Colin Miller (piano, clavinet) and Kyle Gnadinger (pedal steel).
To order Sounds Like… (out May 23) and check out Florry tour dates, go to their Bandcamp page: https://florry.bandcamp.com/album/sounds-like