Philadelphia’s Corey Flood are back with the lush and pointed Down The Hill, to coincide with the release of their debut album ‘Hanging Garden‘ out now via Fire Talk. On Down The Hill, the band encompass twirling guitar lines and washed-out drums to re-create a perfect moment through song, a pithy anthem to sublime moments of peace. While much of ‘Hanging Garden’ is full of questions, ambivalence and anxiety, Down The Hill speaks to more of a serene daydream, drawing on Em Boltz’s honeyed vocals and the beauty and simplicity of enshrining those experiences that forever stay with us.
Speaking to the single Boltz explains: “The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are one of the Seven Wonders of the World. I have a good friend who’s a life-long pen pal. I have a specific memory of one summer when we swam in the lake by their house. I wanted to encapsulate that moment I had and when I was sitting on their bed. The room had beautiful windows and the way the sunlight was shining through felt totally ethereal.” Listen to the track via YouTube below.
There’s a vague sense of unease that permeates Corey Flood’s debut full-length, ‘Hanging Garden’. From the surface, the record appears to break through the dark fog of the band’s 2018 EP, ‘Wish You Hadn’t,’ but just below lay themes of ambivalence, uncertainty, and anxiety, layered elegantly in fuzz. Recorded in Philadelphia by Jackie Milestone, mixed by Natasha Jacobs, and mastered by Sarah Register, ‘Hanging Garden’ pushes through feelings of discomfort and repressed emotions to discover what truly lies beneath.
Born in Philly circa 2017, Corey Flood began as the post-grad bedroom project of bassist Ivy Gray-Klein (formerly of Littler) and drummer Juliette Rando. A month after their first show with guitarist Em Boltz, the band signed with New York’s Fire Talk Records and turned four planned demos into a full-fledged, delightfully menacing debut EP. Now, after two years of intense growth and collaboration, the trio continues their “whirlwind trajectory” with the long-awaited, nine-track LP, ‘Hanging Garden’. Inspired by Throwing Muses, Helium, Pale Saints, and Brix Smith-Start’s work with the Fall, Gray-Klein calls ‘Hanging Garden’ “a reckoning with internal discord.” Through soft melodies, lush guitars and churning rhythms, the dual vocals of Gray-Klein and Boltz recall relatable experiences with gaslighting, imposter syndrome, and repetitive thoughts. ‘Hanging Garden’ feels intimate and familiar but is strewn with playful surprises, like 70s krautrock guitar work and samba-influenced drum parts. The album is a mature stride forward, and a bewitching amble towards the unknown.
‘Hanging Garden’ track listing
1. Heaven Or
2. Down The Hill
3. Hive Mind
4. Honey
5. Park Deli 7
6. Crush
7. Slower Bleeder
8. Kind Stranger
9. Poppies
Order: https://ffm.to/coreyfloodphl
