Flowers For Juno – Kairos
Flowers For Juno – Kairos –Album Review
I mean hey, what would a week even be like here at Flowers For Juno Magazine sleepingbagstudios without a review on the music of FFJ, right?
*cough *cough…oversaturation can be a real thing folks, beware!
Oh I kid, I kid…at least to a degree. I mean, the advice is sound – we have reviewed quite a bit of music from Flowers For Juno this year, but if you’re not tired of it yet, it’s fair to say that I ain’t either. I simply figured I’d start this review in a controversial way, because controversy has proudly been a part of this particular band’s DNA from day one. So here we are – we’ve arrived at Kairos, the brand-new album which contains approximately zero percent new material on it. I say approximately because I’ve got a couple tracks in the liner notes that suggest they’re being released on December 3rd, 2026…but given the fact that I’m listening to them right now, I’m assuming I’m not imagining this happening and these really are the songs the titles claim that they are. I’m just giving the band the gears cause I know they can handle it, but you get the point – Kairos is an album that’s built and assembled with pieces of the band’s past, which pretty much creates a greatest hits type effect. It’s what some might call an old-school approach to putting out a record, but whatever – it’s a tried, tested and true method if you ask me. These songs have already been released online in some way, and now they’re all grouped here together so that you can enjoy them with the simple click of a button. Win-win.
I’ll focus mainly on the stuff I have yet to hear myself today. In the last review I wrote on Flowers For Juno, I questioned the idea of having “Electro Hippies” as the opening track to this album, and I still stand by that comment for the most part. Don’t get me wrong, I like a solid 95% of “Electro Hippies,” and maybe even a fraction more than that…it’s just a strange choice of breakdown mid-tune that continues to throw me off a little bit, but if I wasn’t considering that part, I suppose I’d have to give the rest of “Electro Hippies” a big thumbs up and a full green light as an opening track I guess. I suppose I still think it’s risky to give listeners any reason at all to change the channel and listen to something else in a first impression, but I’d still be the first to tell you the vast majority of this cut is completely killer.
I’ve always told you that if you have reason to believe that the entire world hasn’t heard your music yet, then there’s every reason to keep pushing your music until you’re certain that we all have had a chance to listen – so in all truth, I’m all for a record like Kairos. Hell, it helps me catch up on what I’ve missed from a band I genuinely enjoy listening to, so chances are it’ll help the rest of you fans in the same way. Like, I hadn’t heard “Message To Lana” myself before I went to listen to Kairos over the past week or so, and more Flowers For Juno to listen to is almost always a great thing. Obviously I had to chuckle a bit when “Message To Lana” had the same strange approach to a breakdown mid-song that “Electro Hippies” where the momentum comes to a complete halt for an inexplicable moment or two once again – it was a weird choice before, and guess what? It’s still a weird one now, yes. Featuring two songs that do this back-to-back though? That’s like a whole other level of weird, ain’t it? I mean hey – if these savage chops in the audio and full switch in direction for a brief part of the song are what you’re looking for, I’ve got great news for ya…you’ll find that happening twice in the first two songs on this record. I don’t mind the idea, I’m not convinced by the execution as it currently stands, but I’m actually not fully opposed to any of this. It could work, but I’m not 100% sure that it’s working in the way we hear it now.
In relation to the whole oversaturation aspect I was giving Flowers For Juno a hard time about at the beginning, I’ll absolutely admit it’s way harder to be objective without perspective, and that can easily be the case when the material is so fresh in your mind still. Like I feel like I heard “Crack Den Blues” just yesterday…and yes, maybe I did in listening to Kairos, but you get the point as well – I still have this song in my head from reviewing The Rite Of Spring EP here on these pages of ours. Still a good tune to include into a set list that works in the way that this particular record does with its combination of past releases, but it’s always been tough to argue that “Crack Den Blues” has enough energy to it to bring in new listeners, so much as it’s another cut that existing fans know they can rely on for its consistency. I still dig it though…it’s not leaps & bounds forwards in their evolution, but it moves them a step or two.
What I think I’m looking for on Kairos is that moment where we practically have no choice but to pay our full attention…a track that’s an undeniable home run from start to finish. With “Lipstick And Furs” in the fourth spot in the lineup, I think that’s where you’ll find the most universally agreed upon moment so far – but let’s be real here, there’s still a major risk in the context of an album & retaining listening ears when track four is where you find that song you were hoping to find. Look at it this way – that’s three other spots that occur beforehand that you might have given listeners a reason or two to walk away, when the whole ballgame is really centered around giving them reasons they can’t ignore to stay engaged – make sense? Let me be as clear as I can be…Flowers For Juno has no problem whatsoever generating intrigue and interest with ANY of their material, because generally speaking, it’s probably a whole lot different than whatever’s on your playlist right now – but at the same time, the people need a few tangible hooks here and there that they can latch onto in order to keep listening too. “Lipstick And Furs” has what they’re likely looking for, and without interruption…so like, where listeners might have been enjoying tracks like “Electro Hippies” and “Message To Lana” but felt like their momentum was slightly interrupted by the mid-song breakdowns, you won’t find that on track four – you’ll just love it all instead. Imagine that! I might not know much, but that seems like a good problem for FFJ to have.
The inclusion of “Buckcherry Wrote A Song About Girls Like You” pretty much tells you everything you need to know about Flowers For Juno if I’m being entirely real with ya. When I originally wrote about this song and labeled it as problematic and/or polarizing at best, that might have been the cue to leave this one outta the lineup here, unless it’s one of the tracks that band-leader Benjó James sincerely feels is helping to define the sound, vision, and lyrical scope of the kind of material that he wants his band to be known for. Not really much else to it other than that, is there? I’ll always be the first to tell ya that it still sounds good, but content-wise, the more you dig into it, the more it is likely to have you cringing. I’ve said my piece on this though – you can find my original thoughts on this song by clicking right here.
*ahem…with respect to oversaturation and such…this would be my third exposure to “I go to strip clubs but just for the music” in review this year. That’s a lot for any tune, ain’t it? Like, you’re probably tired of me talking about this one by now already, aren’t ya? I don’t know that I’d have anything new to add here beyond saying that I was a little on the fence about it the first time I heard it, felt like it made more sense to my ears in the context of listening to The Rite Of Spring EP, and now I’m not sure if I’ve gone back to being confused by its continued circulation, or if I’m happy to welcome this track back again. I suppose it all comes down to personal philosophies and such…I have a way harder time looking back at something that’s already been done and dealt with, rather than moving forward into the unknown – but maybe that’s just me. I feel like the approach that Flowers For Juno is taking with the way they’re releasing their music is threatening the longevity of their material if I’m being completely honest with ya, but that could entirely be due to the fact that I’ve likely been listening to this band a lot more than many of you by comparison as well. In any event, I still like “I go to strip clubs but just for the music,” but now I’m kind of in a protective mode where I want to do everything I can to preserve that feeling and make sure I dig it years from now. The same essentially goes for “Dolphin Girl,” which is still one of the best songs in the Flowers For Juno catalog in my opinion, but it’s also another cut that I’ve had the heaviest dose of exposure to…so I’m at the point where I’m like, fighting my brain to not let this song wear itself out too much. If you’re just tuning into Flowers For Juno for the first time, than the effect of hearing this track will likely be a massive part of what gets you to continue listening. I’m still not tired of it now for the record – “Dolphin Girl” is a solid cut by every measure & one of the band’s most universal tunes for sure. I’m confident that even years later down the road, “Dolphin Girl” will still hold up strong.
Speaking of holding up over time, it was good to hear “Physical Culture” make a reappearance with the “This Is Why I’m Single Mix.” Technically it was the first song I ever heard from Flowers For Juno and part of what got me listening to them so willingly afterwards – and now it’s kind of an interesting cut in the sense that, it’s not really at all what the band went on to do as it continued to evolve. There’s an invisible line between where “Physical Culture” finished and the material that came after it, but that still makes this particular tune a crucial part of how the band developed. FFJ almost sounds like the band called Cold here, which is a suit that actually seems to fit them snugly like a glove, but I think when you consider how the band’s sound has morphed and changed since its initial release, you have to assume that Benjó had something different in mind for what Flowers For Juno would go on to become. I still think this cut is pretty damn good, it just simply goes for a different vibe than the majority of the band’s music does now. In that respect, as long as James is content to keep it in the set list, “Physical Culture – This Is Why I’m Single Mix” has the genuine potential to draw in a whole other crowd of listeners to FFJ.
With “It’s Not My Fault – This Won’t Get On The Radio Edit,” I think I gotta push back a little harder. Are you sure it’s not your fault this time here Benjó? It’s an early cut into the band’s career, so I think we’ve gotta cut them a little bit of slack…but I’m confident that deep down inside, James knows his vocal performance on this song didn’t quite get to where it needed to be. I’d posit that maybe it IS in fact his fault this didn’t end up on the radio…because the ideas in the melody of this song and its hooks are very much in the realm of what you could hear in more commercial settings. That’s what kind of makes it even more interesting to me…Benjó’s ears work in the same way that mine do – he knows there’s a better performance he can put in here and in turn, a better representation of this song overall as a result. Everything I’m hearing here, from my perspective, warrants the effort – get back in the booth Benjó! It’s not like you couldn’t crush this song now with the advantages of time and experience…so rather than recycle a version that didn’t quite reach the heights of the song’s potential, why not get back in the studio for another go around and give this track the attention to detail that it needs? All in all, I think that “It’s Not My Fault – This Won’t Get On The Radio Edit” could definitely be up there with my favorite tracks by Flowers For Juno, but it needs additional polish to get it there. James is fully capable, so I find myself not really willing to hear any excuses as to why that ain’t being done. Check this out though Benjó…I’ll prove that what I’m saying to you is true right here, right now. Start singing this song, wherever you are, right now. I bet ya dollars to proverbial donuts that you’re doing a better job at this very moment, which again, is because you’re way more familiar with this song at this point in time. I’d bet that so much of what any artist does benefits from time and experience. The real bottom line is to never settle, and always be willing to continue growing your material, especially if you’re going to keep bringing old songs back again. That gives you every right & reason to keep working on’em all you want. Is this track really worth revisiting? I’m going to go with a huge YES on that. Yes it is. Even though it’s still on that side of sound that’s likely closer to “Physical Culture” overall in comparison to what FFJ has been doing lately, even as it stands here now in a somewhat less than perfected form to listen to, I feel like “It’s Not My Fault – This Won’t Get On The Radio Edit” is more addictive than I thought it could be. There’s a large part of me that really believes this song should have been FFJ’s real breakthrough tune.
As I’ve told you all at least a few times on these pages of ours, give an artist or band a minute or two and they’ll prove me right most of the time. LISTEN to how Benjó sings “You’re So Beautiful It Makes Me Sad” and try to tell me this dude can’t sing when he so obviously can! This is the kind of performance that I wanted with “It’s Not My Fault – This Won’t Get On The Radio Edit” – or at the very least, it’s way closer. I’m not here to argue that he’s made all the right choices or used all the right effects…there are a couple of downright disaster notes in “You’re So Beautiful It Makes Me Sad,” but they’re very minimal. By comparison to the previous tune, the highlights of the way James sings “You’re So Beautiful It Makes Me Sad” are exponentially greater from start to finish. I know the dude is addicted to using effects and all…I’m not here to discourage him from going that route if that’s what he really wants to do – but what I will tell you (and him) is this…the closer we get to the natural sound of his voice on “You’re So Beautiful It Makes Me Sad,” the better shape the song is in from the listening side of the speakers. Dude can totally sing! He’s really done his damn best to mask that part of what he can do in all that we’ve heard so far, so to hear how much of an asset to his music his natural organic voice COULD be, is actually quite surprising to me. We tend to mask or patch over things we’re not as confident in when it comes to making music…but I’m not hearing any reasons as to why this dude should be hiding such talent from us. If I had Benjó’s voice, I’d be seriously proud to put it out there as plain as day…no filter, no effects, just the gold as it’s meant to be heard…but perhaps he’s not quite there yet, or hasn’t been encouraged enough by others to know he’s got as much talent in that department as he truly does. Regardless of a few questionable notes in what you’ll hear on this tune as it stands right now, “You’re So Beautiful It Makes Me Sad” has gotta be right up there with the best of the best in the Flowers For Juno catalog. I’m seriously impressed…hearing this song felt like hearing an entirely new dimension of their true potential.
Full disclosure, I’ve never been all that into The Jesus And Mary Chain. The fact that FFJ is into them enough to want to cover a song by them tells me I should probably go back and have another listen to them…maybe I’m at a place where I’d hear that band in a different way than I used to now. Because I really like what I hear on this band’s cover of “Just Like Honey” – so if I’m been missing out on stuff like this, I should rectify that as quickly as I can. I think they pissed me off with their song “Snakedriver” and how it felt like one of the few moments on the original soundtrack to The Crow that didn’t measure up, but I suppose I should get over that…it’s only been what, thirty-two years of holding onto that grudge? Anyhow. Flowers For Juno do a solid job of covering “Just Like Honey” – I’d listen to this. At this point in the record, I also think we need to really acknowledge how much stronger the second half of Kairos is than the first half – is that just the way I’m hearing it, or are you noticing that too? The first half of this album is very much mired in the low-down vocal effects and sludgier content sound-wise…the second half of Kairos feels like it reveals the much more accessible side of what Flowers For Juno can create. I’m not suggesting one is necessarily better than the other, but I am hinting strongly at which of the two sides of the band’s musical persona stands the best chance of reaching the people out there. “Just Like Honey” deserves to be part of that same conversation…I think this cover came out exceptionally well.
Will the hot streak continue with “My Bloody Kisses?” I don’t know if I’d go that far, but I also don’t know that I’d claim that it doesn’t either. This cut puts the band in a bit of a brief holding pattern of sorts, where “My Bloody Kisses” doesn’t really push anything too much further forward, but doesn’t drag them significantly backwards. Do I wanna fight with Benjó about the very ending of this track and the horrific way he lets it skip stylistically to a halt for its finishing move? You bet your ass I do! I’ve been asked several times in my life what the worst sound I’ve ever heard is, and my answer has always been the skipping of a CD…it’s like nails on a chalkboard to me, or hearing the word MOIST for many of you out there…it’s just unwelcome, straight up. Thankfully, it’s a very tiny portion of “My Bloody Kisses” and I dig the rest of what’s going on up to that part. In a way, that’s even tougher because you just want to enjoy something easily all the way through without any obstacles, and James seems to revel in finding these unique ways of putting a stick into the spokes instead of just making things easy for us as listeners. It might be one step too many in that final five seconds or so, but other than that, “My Bloody Kisses” is another solid entry into the Flowers For Juno catalog. It’s definitely a more lateral type of move overall, but it holds its own; the music is remarkably cool, intriguing, and interesting. At his focused best, Benjó is really gifted when it comes to the combination of textures & tones within the production of his music.
Yeah…once again, in full Rock mode and a more aggressive gear, James can really sound like the singer for Cold on a track like “Without Love – 7” Deadly Sins Mix.” I’m cool with that. I don’t know that it had too much of an effect on how I felt about this particular song, which felt like I could take it or leave it depending on which day I was listening to Kairos, but I could see why people out there would dig this track. Musically, I think it’s pretty safe and sound…vocally, I think there are parts I like, parts I don’t as much, and parts I REALLY like as well…so a bit of a mixed result I suppose. Content-wise, I think that’s where “Without Love – 7” Deadly Sins Mix” isn’t really a standout or doing anything that’s too new, especially by comparison to how many authentic and new things that this band tends to do. This track is much more cut from the same cloth as much Alt/Rock would be, which doesn’t make it a bad listen by any stretch of the imagination, but does make it drift closer to similar sounds and songs you’ve already heard somewhere along the way. Do I think the breakdown around the second minute mark makes any damn sense to my ears? No. No it does not. It’s quick though…so there’s that. I still think there’s a highly strange tendency from Benjó to almost get in his own damn way at points…and I don’t know if continually creating these bizarre fragments in the middle of such tremendous accessibility is the right way to go about getting his music into listening ears, but time will tell. It ain’t my call to make, that I can tell you for sure. James clearly has a grip on what accessibility is…it’s not like an unknown element to him…he just chooses to go left when the easier decision would be to go right at times, that’s all. When you do that, you can generate some significantly polarizing moments, and that can actually be a really good thing too. You might piss a whole lot of people off in the process of pursuing methods like that, but by the same token, you might get a whole lot of people that don’t feel indifferent about what you created as well. Whether they like it ALL might be debatable, but they definitely won’t feel indifferent.
“Pink Noise” to go with what’s been a fairly regular stream of pink-based artwork – why not, right? Wrapping up Kairos with the sonic equivalent of white noise on your television, filtered through the dedicated pink lens that Flowers For Juno has been presenting itself within, this last track on the album is by far the least consequential. Or at least that’s how I’d assume it’ll be received by most. For whatever reason, I found this tiny tune of only 1:37 in length to be oddly soothing and quite addictive, but I wouldn’t expect everyone out there to feel that way. There ain’t a whole lot to it, it will remain in the gear that it starts in throughout the duration of its length…but yeah…it’s actually kinda cool in my opinion. It’s not going to be the main reason people around the world are tuning into Kairos, but I’m quite sure that’s not news to the Flowers For Juno crew…they already know that. What I like is that Benjó ain’t afraid to try different things, and that he clearly doesn’t shy away from making choices that most others wouldn’t typically make. There’s uniqueness that definitely has tremendous appeal in FFJ, but over the course of Kairos, they’ve also shown us a level of accessibility that’s more familiar to us and can work really well for the band’s sound too, without feeling like they had to compromise too much of the overall vision or ambitions they have in making music that stands out from the rest. Hopefully James and his crew have learned what they needed to learn from the past and this particular collection of songs…now it’s all about refinement and pushing forward towards that next significant breakthrough – I’m definitely excited by the potential for what this band could go on to do with its next chapter ahead.
Find out more about Flowers For Juno from their page at Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/flowersforjuno
Click this link right here to be the next artist or band featured here at sleepingbagstudios, because hey – why not? All the cool kids are doing it.
