There are some intriguing things happening in the world of guitar-based pop over the past couple of years, and the success of bands like the 1975 is heartening for anyone who was afraid this stuff was going to fall permanently out of the mainstream musical discourse a few years ago. LA’s Flor are in a prime position to benefit from this resurgence, as on their 2019 album Ley Lines, they dabble in a similar sort of delicate, bouncy pop as that of the 1975 — one that always focuses on the sounds created by the band’s guitars and voices, even though it’s never particularly harsh or loud.
Perhaps we’ve finally gotten far enough past Nirvana for the distorted paradigm they created to lose its lengthy period of ubiquity, and I know there’ll be some out there who are bummed out to think of that, but when bands like Flor are out here on tracks like “Slow Motion” showing how much can still be done with an approach that focuses on playful melodies and delicacy rather than noise, it’s hard to see it as all that tragic. See what sort of magic Flor is able to weave in the live environment at The Broadberry this Tuesday night, and learn to embrace the non-crunchy guitar wave.
