Braids - Flourish // Perish

Auf "Flourish // Perish", dem zweiten Album von Braids, kann man endlich erfahren, wie Natural electronica klingt. Denn diesen Begriff wählt Sängerin Raphaelle Standell-Preston, um den eigenen Sound zu beschreiben: 

We made up a genre called natural electronica. Natural components making up electronic music. Like the voice and drums, more organic elements combined with electronic. We are very much electronic in the way we composed the last record, using the computer. Aside from the drums and my voice it’s all super synthesized. Natural electronica.

Das kanadische Quartett veröffentlichte 2011 sein Debütalbum "Native Speaker", das noch zwischen Art-Rock und Dreampop pendelte, und begann im selben Jahr bereits mit dem Komponieren neuer Songs, die auch auf der anschließenden Tournee präsentiert wurden. Große Teile des Jahres 2012 verbrachten Braids - Raphaelle Standell-Preston (Gesang, Gitarre), Katie Lee (Keyboards, Austin Tufts (Schlagzeug) und Taylor Smiths (Bass, Percusssion, Samples) - in Montreal mit den Aufnahmen der 10 neuen Songs, aus denen bis auf das abschließende "In Kind" die Gitarre ausgespart wurde, so dass sich um Standell-Prestons hohen, ätherischen Gesang nur noch ungewöhnliche Beats und experimentelle Rhythmen sowie seltsame Samples und spröde Synthie-Klänge rankten. Auf den iPods von Braids finden sich mit Sicherheit Björk, Austra und Radiohead! 

Keyboarderin Katie Lee scheint mit dieser Neuausrichtung nicht ganz zufrieden gewesen zu sein, so dass sie die Band mittlerweile verlassen hat und Braids ihr am 23.08. über Full Time Hobby erschienendes "Flourish // Perish" in Berlin (05.09.13 und 23.11.13) als Trio präsentieren müssen.  

Likewise, the beats of Flourish // Perish are where the fundamental differences between it and its antecedent begin: skittering and arthropodic all over, instead of surging. While Flourish // Perish and Native Speaker can both be reasonably described as “dance,” Flourish takes that nomenclature far less in the traditional sense (i.e., don’t expect to do that dancing with anybody else in the room). The rhythms here are generally much more complex, both technically and texturally, forcing focus onto the minutia, practically demanding headphones over speakers. But there was also an energy to Native Speaker that gets lost in Braids’ new obsession for intricate flavors, as occasionally, these songs fail to move in any purposeful direction.

Braids’ new, hushed sound could also be attributed in part to the departure of their fourth member, keyboardist Katie Lee. It’s a perfectly understandable, logical move for a band to attempt a “less is more” record when faced with fewer hands on deck, and that appears to be the thought process behind Flourish // Perish. And, on certain cuts in between moments of disorientation, especially the crescendoing “Ebben”, it’s a goal thoroughly accomplished.

(Consequence Of Sound)

That humanity is very much still at the heart of their sophomore album, Flourish//Perish. The title alone directly addresses vitality, which almost comes across as adventurous when you try to rectify the idea with the electronic effects and futuristic percussion rhythms that populate the bleak terrain of the album. These incongruities recur in the album’s content. “Together” is about as solitary and paranoid of a number as you will get in these mid-summer months, with frontwoman Raphaelle Standell-Preston finding company in her own mind, and the speaker sounding anything but “together.” Standell-Preston is the confident center of “Juniper,” letting her classically beautiful vocals take root amid the cyclone of discordant textures.

The conflicting effect of the album can be unnerving on “Amends,” where the vibrance of the vocals is rushed by the environment, like sprinting in a dark hallway, hoping not to crash into a wall. Impressions like these are easy to respect, but also hold the identity of Braids lightly, and without reverence for what they have previously constructed. Perhaps the departure of keyboardist and vocalist Katie Lee affected the direction of the project, as there are only a few moments where the roadmap laid out on Native Speaker is followed.

Those few moments, though, cultivate curiosity about who the three-piece Montreal band really is. While it’s possible that they are more the Austra-esque creators of spare darkwave we hear on “December,” this impressive bit of songwriting is also Braids at their least creative.

It’s closer “In Kind,” with eight minutes of unpredictable, brave and exhilarating musicianship that achieves heights most bands spend a career searching for. The length of time it takes to unfold challenges waning attention spans, but by revealing Standell-Preston’s drawn fangs early, it turns the listeners into willing victims. It’s a shame Braids doesn’t live on this level, but it also makes the reward of “In Kind” more satisfying. If we know anything about Braids by the conclusion of the song, and the album, it is to expect change and growth, not a settled-on sound. And, for better or worse, that is very human.

(Paste Magazine)