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Tim Bowness - Flowers at the Scene CD (album) cover

FLOWERS AT THE SCENE

Tim Bowness

 

Crossover Prog

3.63 | 66 ratings

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A Crimson Mellotron
Prog Reviewer
3 stars 'Flowers at the Scene' is a very intimate, eclectic collection of songs by British musician Tim Bowness, a man who might be an unfamiliar name for most listeners, but is one of the most interesting, talented and seasoned artists from the contemporary progressive rock scene in the UK. Perhaps most well-known as one half of the dream pop (although this is a very limiting way of describing the music) duo No-Man, alongside Steven Wilson, Bowness takes the exotic and sensual sensibility that is so well-presented in the albums released by the duo and elevates it in his impressive solo catalogue, focusing on songs that tell stories rather than chart-topping hits, scenes rather than soundscapes, tales rather than statements. All delivered in a very subtle, gentle, often even haunting, and beautiful manner, with an ethereal sense of elegance - all superlatives that are quite adequate for the honest description of this 2019 Inside Out Music release.

A cast of impressive musicians will be noticed in the album's liner notes: Peter Hammill, Colin Edwin, Jim Matheos, Kevin Godley, David Longdon, among others contribute bits and pieces of music to 'Flowers at the Scene', Bowness' fifth solo offering. However, as eclectic as this album is, one cannot help but also feel a tiny exhaustion around the second half of the album - this is where, in my humble opinion, the pace gets too slow, the continuum of mellow, introverted tracks telling these very personal tales embraces the listener and puts him in some sort of pre-hibernation state and you can hardly remember much of what you've heard, as it leaves an impression that it is a bit washed and monotonous after all.

Opening track 'I Go Deeper' sets a very melancholic tone, this is confirmed by the next song, the dreamy, peaceful 'The Train That Pulled Away', a more intricate and very well-written piece. 'Rainmark' is another 'downer', if I may say so, despite the seemingly more upbeat tone - the unprepared listener might give in to sorrow and melancholia; On a side note, this lovely little song features some fine guitars from Fates Warning's Jim Matheos. All the songs are very vivid in the scenes Bowness is singing about - one of these more cinematic tracks is 'Not Married Anymore', about which I would say reminisces the sinking desperation of 'My Hotel Year', Bowness' first solo release. The title track sees Jim Matheos as a collaborator once again, a pretty beautiful, elegant song. 'It's the World' is the heavy rocker on the album, a dark and agonizing reflection on what could perhaps be a recollection of the author's let-downs throughout his life. This one features Jim Matheos once again as well as Peter Hammill and Steven Wilson. The rest of the album is also very sincerely mellow, the songs slowly unfold just to reveal some pretty moments but unfortunately do not contribute too much to the overall eclecticism of the LP, and as mentioned before, might sound a bit too melancholic.

Still, 'Flowers at the Scene' is a very interesting release, indeed quite eclectic, probably a meeting point between art rock, singer-songwriter and dream pop - an avenue of self-reflection, sorrow and grief, yet it has its moments of hope, joy, and pleasant melancholia. Elegant work that is meant to be listened to, you can hardly find reasons to dance to this album though.

A Crimson Mellotron | 3/5 |

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