Winnie "Flowers For Winnie" Album Review
Review by: Lucas Kurmis, Writer @KurmisTheFrog
Edited by: Andrew Perrizo, Owner/Editor @melodicnoisemedia
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An album that holds your hand
Flowers for Winnie is a serene tour of Winnie’s mind as a lyricist and as a musician. It takes you down winding hallways of wandering interludes and lyrics that are both quippy and personal. This album holds your hand and tells you there’s something we need to talk about. Lyrically, Flowers For Winnie explores lingering feelings, mistakes, and imagining something better. Sonically as well as lyrically, the album remains minimal, featuring one or two guitar tracks and one or two vocal tracks at a time. Still, the album offers a deep exploration of feelings that can be evoked through this minimalism.
About Winnie
You may know Winnie from their band One Big Quilt, which consists of Winnie and drummer Joel Campbell, and centers around a mathy indie rock sound. If you’re expecting Flowers For Winnie to sound like One Big Quilt, you’re in for a surprise. This album is a lot less mathy and rocky than Winnie’s other project, but no less impressive. Instead, we see a softer, warmer side of Winnie. You may have already seen this side peek out at a One Big Quilt show, but this album has warmth and softness at its center.
Conversely, you may know Winnie from their past solo music, such as “Caterpillar,” which is closer to this album, but still not as minimal and not quite as intimate. Or maybe you’ve heard Winnie play a solo show or an open mic. An open mic is where I first met Winnie, so maybe you’re like me and have been eagerly awaiting a recorded version of these songs after being dazzled by Winnie’s skillful playing and thoughtful lyrics over the years.
Or you might not know Winnie at all. If that’s the case, you’re in for a treat. I would recommend both their quaint solo stuff and noisier math rock. Winnie is an artist of many talents, and you might get a fuller picture after seeing Winnie’s different sides and skills. One Big Quilt doesn’t have any recorded music yet, but Flowers For Winnie is an excellent place to start.
A sprawling and serene soundscape
I don’t usually write about instrumentally focused tracks and longer interludes, but soundscaping and exploring these interludes are a core element of the album, so it feels important to cover. And there’s something really unique about the way Winnie explores writing and album flow on Flowers For Winnie. The flow of the album has a completeness to it as Winnie bounces in and out lyrically between instrumental tracks that complement lyrical portions of the album and still stand on their own. The album opens with the instrumental track “World Behind,” which feels exploratory and curious, like the guitar has something to say, but doesn’t know how to say it yet. And then the album flows right into “One Wish” in one of many perfect complements. The album flows like this throughout, oscillating between singer-songwriter lyricism and masterful instrumentals. A notable example would be “Who Set The Bar,” where Winnie doesn’t start singing until over two minutes into the song. It’s an interesting and innovative move, and it catches you by surprise after you might assume that the song is entirely instrumental. Just like they arrived, the vocals leave suddenly, and the song goes back to mainly instrumentals for several more minutes. This song seems to say, “Yes, I have words to get out, but for now, let’s just listen. The guitar has a lot to say, too.”
Minimal lyrics that have a lot to say
I would say that the instrumentals take center stage on Flowers For Winnie, but the lyrics have a lot to say in their brief appearances. Winnie sings about loss and learning, confusion and clarity. Lyrics are impressionistic and evocative, focusing more on emotional weight than on a specific narrative. In the aforementioned “Who Set The Bar,” Winnie repeats the lyric “I’m not stuck,” a mantra or a reassurance that must be repeated to make them feel more true. There’s a witty honesty to Winnie’s lyrics that feels distinctly Winnie. There are moments of vulnerability, but witty levity too. “I was cheated out of twenty dollars / It was my own fault, I called my brother.”
The album as an experience
Flowers For Winnie is an experience, especially for people who enjoy listening to albums as a whole. The songs stand by themselves (and live happily individually in my playlists), but the album rewards those who listen in for a musically cohesive experience. Regardless of how you listen to it, this album stands out for its creativity and heart. This album is witty, warm, playful, and pondering at the same time. Whether you know Winnie or not, I recommend Flowers for Winnie, especially if you’re looking for something cozy to keep you warm.
Flowers For Winnie is out on most streaming platforms and on Winnie’s Bandcamp. You can find Winnie on Instagram, and you can find their band One Big Quilt on Instagram as well.
