I have a strict policy 'round these parts that I only blog about stuff I like. The stuff I get sent that I dislike doesn't even warrant a mention on this site, as a rule. And, to be honest, I really thought that I wasn't going to write about the new one from Flower Girl, Tuck In Your Tie-Dye, out next Friday via BUFU Records. Let me explain, if you will.
I have a very, very low tolerance for "Hey look at me, I'm quirky"-kinda music. I like clever stuff but whenever a band or artist tries too hard to be funny, I get turned off. Needless to say I hate Zappa, most of Ween's stuff, and a whole lot of the output of The Violent Femmes and They Might Be Giants. I get the appeal of all of those acts but really don't enjoy much music from any of them. All that said, Flower Girl's stuff edges dangerously close to that sort of thing. Still, by the time I got to "2late 2be a Cowboy" with its late-period Blur-isms, I was more or less hooked. If the brief "I Saw a Mouse" is a bit insufferable, at least the rollicking "Hi5s" manages to work up a Malkmus-meets-The Kinks-sort of vibe that is very hard not to love. Elsewhere, the excellent "Waiting on the Line" is the best attempt to pull off a Camper Van Beethoven number since Lowery and the boys were an actual working band. If "Dorothy Says" nods in the direction of solo Syd Barrett, then "Business Plant" edges impressively close to Brighten the Corners-era Pavement, enough so that I started to like this goofy band even if I can't entirely recommend every single cut here.
I can't say that my review of Tuck In Your Tie-Dye by Flower Girl is a rave but there were certainly enough moments here that I enjoyed to make me want to write a bit about this crew. Out next Friday on BUFU Records, the new LP from Flower Girl is sure to please fans of Ween, Weezer, and other bands from the glory days of American alt-rock.
Tuck in Your Tie-Dye is out Friday via BUFU Records. Follow Flower Girl via the band's official Facebook page.
[Photo: Uncredited promo pic]