Customer Reviews

Flowermouth

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

An album far "advanced" for it's time. Originally released in 1994 on the "One Little Indian" label, the 2005 remastered version pumps out Steven Wilson & Tim Bowness' purely genius 'Elegant Dreaminess' talent. Both my '94 and 2005 versions of 'Flowermouth' are sitting here in front of me at my desk as I type (for easy reference). In my opinion, "Flowermouth' and 'Wild OPera' are No-Man's 2 best recordings to date. 'Flowermouth' takes you on that mesmeric rollercoaster ride of Euphoric and dramatic music, making it a very moody & brilliant album.

Personally, if anything had to be corrected (perfected), I would've re-recorded "Simple" with a completely different ending. There's 90 seconds of that delerious keyboard and the ending goes nowhere to the imagination. But's it's a delight to hear Lisa Gerrard (of Dead Can Dance) on 'Simple'. Her voice is a great touch to this song...which happens to be one of my favorites, among many on this CD. My absolute favorite is 'You Grow More Beautiful'...with it's lush and elegant arrangements. My 3rd favorite track has to be 'Teardrop Fall'...for it's mesmeric & fluid, yet leaves you floating there in the atmoshpere like many of No-Man's songs do. If your ears are sensitive to the subtle & obvious changes between an original issue and a remastered issue, you'll notice the sharpness of the effects & sound on 'Flowermouth'.

Tracklisting:

01- Angel Gets Caught In The Beauty Trap - 10:33 (36 seconds longer than 1994 version)

02- You Grow More Beautiful - 5:26

03- Animal Ghost - 6:09

04- Soft Shoulders - 3:59

05- Shell Of A Fighter - 7:50

06- Teardrop Fall - 4:39

07- Watching Over Me - 4:43

08- Simple - 7:03

09- Things Change - 7:31

Bonus Tracks

10- Angeldust - 9:11

11- Born Simple - 12:09 (the most atmospheric 'Steven Wilson' influenced track on the album)

Packaging & Features:

- Booklet is actually a booklet, rather than a gatefold pamphlet

- Booklet & digipack are printed in a soft matte

- Fully Lyrics are included in booklet

- This appears to be the corrected re-issue with the right year & packaging...unlike the pre-order "error"

- CD tray features the "feet in the flowers" image

- Inner cover features Steven & Tim (same image also found in inside last page of booklet)

- Booklet features an interesting 4-page 'Story' behind the album & re-issue

- CD is silver, minus the floral print. Titling is in white

- Included insert featuring all the "Snapper" label re-issues of Porcupine Tree, No-Man & Blackfield

Buy this CD for you won't regret it. I recommend it to anyone who truly appreciates what beautiful music is all about.

To Chellie...I highly recommended 'Flowermouth' to you! ;)

With its lush textures and warm, gentle vocals, 'Flowermouth' is not instantly sonically abrasive. Despite this, it is not a record that benefits from great immediacy. The melodies are subtle and hypnotic, while a lot of the tracks, while built around a melodic motif or simple rhythm, possess a trance like quality that sees them unfold and expand around the listener.

No-Man is a project of Steven Wilson and Tim Bowness. Wilson is widely known for his work with Porcupine Tree, and while some facets of Flowermouth recall his work there, notably the vocal engineering, No man is quite a different band. 'Flowermouth' is a delicate balance of post-rock texture and mood, pop vocals and simple, carefree lyrics, coupled with a hint of dance ambience. Each track is very carefully crafted and is crammed with ideas. The more upbeat, catchy numbers like 'You grow more beautiful' or the superb 'Teardrop fall' have a soothing, dreamy quality, with Bowness excellent vocals giving the songs accesibility. Both would almost serve as pop singles. No man really flex their muscles on the exteneded experimental pieces, like the glorious opening shot 'Angel gets Caught in the Beauty Trap' (best title and song ever!). Here Robert Fripp contributes a guitar loop thing, and the duo paint a gorgeous exercise in texture, tone and subtle melody over it. Each track is well crafted and executed, and each contributes well to the overall flow of the record.

No Man seem to be quite underrated and not widely known, even considering Wilson's other projects, which is a shame, as this album is a gorgeous exercise in texture and its also really accessible, after a couple of listens. I recommend it highly.

What a pleasure to hear an album as refreshing as this one. The blend of electronic, acoustic (or analog) instruments, and a nice collection of guests on this album make Flowermouth one of the best No Man albums. The songs are incredibly original, and have the presence of guitar guru Robert Fripp - as guest - on 80% of the record.

At first listen I couldn t believe ther interplay between former King Crimson sax player Mel Collins, Robert Fripp and the voice of Lisa Gerrard (of Dead can dance). Steve Wilson shows maturity (considering this was 1994) in comparison to his full time project Porcupine Tree - which also is wonderful. Tim Bowness is the singer and although I haven't heard many more records by No Man, has a voice that fits this band s sound perfectly. On the first song, 'Angel gets caught in the beauty trap', we hear him sing "In my dream I feel you breathing..In my dream I feel you breathe". These are very deep and beautiful words.

I beleive this band will continue to release excellent records (as they have since Flowermouth), and that the other projects that the members of this band partake in, will continue growing.

This is an incredibly moving album. No-man somehow finds a way to fuse the rich, effusive sound of ornate progressive rock with the intimacy and timelessness of classic English folk (thing of Talk Talk's later years, David Sylvian, or Nick Drake). This sacrifices nothing from the best of both genres and remains a high water mark in the catalogs of Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) and Tim Bowness. Guest appearances from Robert Fripp, Mel Collins, and Lisa Gerrard only enhance the music and never sound gratuitous. Wilson, of course, has gone on to great acclaim in Porcupine Tree, but the fans should pay particular attention to Mr. Bowness, whose sensibility brings a very different emotion to this music. Music for the sake of music with no compromises.

Imagine Depeche Mode if they weren't so dark, imagine Pink Floyd if they'd had an incurable romantic streak, and you've got an idea of what you're in for with Flowermouth. The liner notes use phrases like "a glorious pop netherworld" and despite the hyperbole, it's no exaggeration - here, No-Man created a blissful smorgasbord for the ears that still stands as one of the most underrated discs of the 90s. Think of it as a much-needed answer to Morrissey or the Cure.

At heart the songs are basically pop melancholia, but with such a breathtakingly lush sound that it would make angels weep. Tim Bowness's rich voice deserves mention in the same league as David Sylvian, while the instrumental part of the equation is absolutely stunning. It would be stunning even if Steven Wilson had handled everything by himself, but this record also benefits from Robert Fripp, Richard Barbieri, Ben Coleman, Mel Collins and Ian Carr. It's practically worthwhile for the guest list alone.

Ultra-lush pop is the basic framework, but the music also shows an ambient sensibility, a taste for electronica, a touch of minimalism, a quiet-jazz attitude and the occasional emotional-rollercoaster guitar solo. Underlying everything is a bewitching bed of electronic beats, ranging from catchy danceable techno - just try not to bang on something during "Teardrop Fall" - to minimal chill-out groove. All their strengths are summed up in the myriad of lovely textures of "Angel Gets Caught in the Beauty Trap," hands-down one of the most incredible No-Man songs ever. It's an exquisite ten minutes of gorgeous synths, guitar, sax and violin, each contribution more lovely than the last.

Granted, in spots the production can sound a tad close to 80s synth-pop. But trust me, no one hates 80s music more than I do, and I say the sheer loveliness of the whole experience overrides any of those complaints. Even better than the original, this reissue has a fuller, warmer sound and 20 minutes of bonus material (drawn from early jams of "Angel Gets Caught..." and "Simple") featuring some wondrous Frippertronic guitar. The packaging is worse than before, but I guess you can't have everything.

This is a perfect time to discover this gem of an album. You want it. Go buy.

Flowermouth is my personal favorite from No-Man, the long running side project from Steven Wilson and vocalist Tim Bowness. Flowermouth has lots of great beats, violins, flutes, and the soothing voice of Tim Bowness. From the amazing opening track "Angel Gets Caught in the Beauty Trap", to the almost mainstream sounding "You Grow More Beautiful", to the perfect closing track "Things Change", you get a lot of bang for your buck. Worth every penny!

I learned about NO-MAN through Porcupine Tree's "Master of Music" Steven Wilson. What a genious.

I absolutely love No-Man Flowermouth. Lots of Violins and Flutes. Why don't Porcupine Tree do more of this sound on one of their up-coming CDs?

Tim Bowness's voice is amazing, and I think he definitely fits the part of vocalist in this duo.

Not one song is bad, and I have very little else to say about this wonderful CD.

Glad to own it.

For Porcupine Tree fans:

Move along, nothing to see here. This is not a Porcupine Tree album by a different name. Get one track: "things change," if you must.

For everyone else:

Glossy power pop, beautifully recorded. Mike and the Mechanics would be proud of this. (That's not intended as a criticism.)

The loss of two stars comes from the affected, breathy vocals. They get seriously annoying after a couple of tracks.

Steven, if you're listening, how about an instrumental version, or one with you singing? That would be much better.

Three and a half stars, actually.

High expectations are a dangerous thing. I ordered this CD with very high ones after buying (and liking a lot) several Steven Wilson-related CDs, Porcupine Tree is in my top five, Blackfield is very nice artsy pop music, so what did I have to lose. Honestly, I do like the album, it does remind me -in addition of those influences already mentioned- of early Tears for Fears and late Talk Talk. In my opinion the vocals are too even, too "the same", and that's what takes away the most from the album.

I found the bonus material a bit boring, meandering and pointless. Something for the fans only.

Overall the album is good, gives you a hint of much better and greater things to come from Wilson.

A revelation in terms of the band's capabilities and future evolution, "Flowermouth" is one of those rare albums that is clearly a work of a band in transition and yet in its own right absolutely brilliant. While No-Man would manage more solid albums overall, "Flowermouth" ultimately has some of the best work the band has done in their career.

Certainly opener "Angel Gets Caught in the Beauty Trap" frames the album well, and I suspect anyone hoping for more of the inventive pop of Loveblows and Lovecries: A Confession was immediately put off. Clocking in over ten minutes, built on a simply lovely piano theme from multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson and guitar soundscapes by guest Robert Fripp, vocalist Tim Bowness provides a prototypical sensitive and emotive lyric delivery before surrendering to a powerful swirl of soloing from Fripp, trumpeter Ian Carr and reedman Mel Collins. By the time it's done, you're either hooked (I was) or you've turned the record off.

The album progresses through different sounds and moods, trending towards their dancable past ("You Grow More Beautiful"), gentle balladry (the achingly beautiful "Watching Over Me") or truly inexplicable ("Simple", a churning beast of a tune featuring sampled guest vocals from Dead Can Dance's Lisa Gerard, fierce ambient guitar-- not a contradiction-- from Fripp-- and a vaguely creepy vocal from Bowness). Along the way, the album surprises over and over again (eletronic ethnic sounds on "Animal Ghost", the unexpected swirl of explosive noise on "Shell of a Fighter") to keep you off balance.

For this reissue, the album has been remastered, perhaps a bit unnecessarily, though it does sound fantastic, and has been augmented with a pair of remixes from the now out of print remix album Flowermix. "Angeldust" is an interesting remix of "Angel Gets Caught in the Beauty Trap", presenting loping bass, arpeggiated synthesizers, programmed beats and Fripp's soundscapes as a framework for Bowness' vocal and Collins' sax, with both melody performances mixed to sound like they're right next to you. "Born Simple" rebuilds "Simple" (although it's hard to really hear the source material) over a throbbing heartbeat and Robert Fripp's soundscapes, it's a superb performance from Fripp and reinforces the general creepiness of the lyrics of the source track nicely.

Abstractly, I find that No-Man has produced extraordinary albums over the years, and it seems as if "Flowermouth" is just a means to an end in that regard, but this record is so good, it's difficult to think of it as anything but a masterpiece. Highly recommended.