Raw demos formed the foundation for the new SUNFLOWERS album — songs that already carried enough soul and were then carefully shaped into what we now hear on “You Have Fallen… Congratulations!” (Fuzz Club). Throughout the process, the Portuguese band made sure to preserve that unpolished edge.
On their fifth album, SUNFLOWERS only partly follow the path they once laid out. There used to be fuzzed-out, exuberant garage punk — and we still get flashes of that here, especially in the super-catchy opener “Chameleon Kid”.
For the most part, though, they veer into rougher noise rock territory. The sound is dense and impenetrable, stripped of any drunken glamour — and that’s a good thing, since it gives rise to beasts like “A Therapist’s Special”.
A minor downside: this time, it only stretches to 27 minutes. But after that grand, chaotic finale, you’re spent anyway.
SUNFLOWERS – You Have Fallen… Congratulations!: Noisy garage rock. – RIFL