FLOWERS AT THE SCENE

Tim Bowness is probably most famous for his work with Steven Wilson as the duo known as "No-man", which started out as a progressive dance project, and ended up as a mostly minimalist band that played and sang beautifully lush compositions. He has also released several solo and collaboration full length albums, 9 to be exact, at least to this point.

His ninth album is called "Flowers at the Scene" and was released on March 1, 2019. Tim does most of the vocals and synths, but has recruited a line up of guest musicians that is basically a Who's-who of progressive artists. We have appearances of Peter Hammill from Van der Graff Generator, Andy Partridge from XTC, Kevin Godley from 10cc, Colin Edwin from Porcupine Tree, Jim Matheos from Fates Warning and OSI, David Longdon from Big Big Train, and several others. The tracks on the album are all between 3 and 5 minutes with 11 tracks total adding up to a runtime of about 43 minutes.

"I Go Deeper" alternates between a heavy moderate beat with a guitar riff and a atmospheric softness on the chorus. His vocals are unmistakably his trademark sound, especially on the soft sections. "The Train that Pulled Away" starts with a subdued march style percussion and violins emulating a train. Bowness' beautiful vocals reflect a feeling of loneliness and a swelling violin accompanies him. Later, a cello provides bass when the full drum pattern kicks in. "Rainmark" features Jim Matheos. Shimmering synths provide the background and is later joined by a moderate rhythm and occasional brass which slowly build to the lovely guitar solo sandwiched between Tim's airy vocals that always evoke emotions.

"Not Married Anymore" has a pensive feel, but with tonal percussive sounds and piano accompaniment. Dylan Howe guests on drums. Nothing generates the feeling of loneliness or the feeling of regret in music more than Tim's emotional vocals. Exquisite! Jim Matheos also guests on the title track "Flowers at the Scene". This has a more jazz feel to it, a little more upbeat with piano, synths and drums. Jim's perfect guitar work joins in on the 2nd verse and during the instrumental break and it fits perfectly to the feel of the song. "It's the World" features Jim again and Peter Hammill. The song is immediately darker feeling with a heavy guitar and synths. Steven Wilson definitely has a part in this too, it can be heard in the dark, and later, louder feel of the track. I would guess the background harmonies involve Wilson and Hammill here also. This is one I wish was longer.

"Borderline" features Dylan Howe again along with David Longdon on background vocals and flute. There is also a trumpet involved with this soft jazz track. "Ghostlike" starts with a heavy drum progression and stylish synths. This is another dark track and a bit heavier than others and becoming atmospheric in the last minute. This is also the longest track of just over 5 minutes. "The War on Me" returns to a pensive feel with processed piano and synths and airy vocals. "Killing to Survive" features Peter Hammill again. Jangly guitar and piano build under the vocals and a steady drum during the chorus. Hammill's distinctive vocals come in on the 2nd chorus. There is also a great guitar solo in the break, but it's too short. "What Lies Here" features Andy Partridge and Kevin Godley on secondary vocals. Synths and guitar bring in an atmospheric introduction before Tim's airy and pensive vocals start. The harmonized vocals by the guests are a very nice touch here. The track stays soft and atmospheric throughout.

This album is another beautiful reminder of Tim Bowness' musical interpretation skills and it is hard to find a vocalist that can convey lyrics the way that he can. The music on here is mostly soft and melancholic, but that is what I love about his music. There are a few instances where things are more upbeat also, and that lends variety to the album. The one problem is the fact that it only has light doses of Progressiveness, but that is hardly noticeable because of Tim's vocal abilities and textures. the other drawback is I wish a few of the tracks were a little longer. As a regular album, this would be teetering on a 5 star album, but since it is not really that progressive, for the purpose of this site it has to be 4 stars. This is a beautiful album.

Flowers At The Scene (2019) displays Tim Bowness´relentless music composition maturity clearly and for good.

In this release, as he usually does, he surrounds himself with a great cast of collaborators and as always Tim Bowness sounds like Tim Bowness and no one else.

I could tire you out with Mr. Bowness credentials, but I have done that in other reviews.

In this album there is an energetic feel which renews his heritage, like new blood, and it is all his and it happens all way through from track one to track eleven.

Simplification has been one of Tim Bowness guidelines and he does this without cutting off musical ideas (which he has plenty, both very good & unique), opposite to that this is done by solely displaying the essentials in his compositions, performances, recording and production even in his very intimate lyrics.

So expect diversity in all of Mr. Bowness´ musical language´s scope and a storm of memorable moments compressed in great songs.

4 PA´s 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.