Venice is Sinking - Sorry About the Flowers

Guess what? Beach Boys-y pop isn’t the only thing that Athens, GA has to offer in the way of independent music. Of course, the southern city can claim the B-52s and R.E.M. as its own, but these days any mention of Athens is bound to have kids dreaming about Of Montreal or the Olivia Tremor Control, not the craftily orchestrated, hushed pop that Venice is Sinking lay down on Sorry About the Flowers. On its cover, Sorry About the Flowers depicts a frightened woman and baby on an angry sea; we’re led to believe the two are mother and child, and that the harsh waters on which they’re boating are apt to pull them to murky depths. The music that follows is the polar opposite of these sentiments—serene vocals lulled out between Daniel Larson and Karolyn Troupe, peaceful strings, and ambient atmospheres—none of which would coincide with the foreshadowed troubled on the sea. The tranquil quality of the album is its most rewarding asset, and what the record lacks in energy is reimbursed by a lot of ambition and meticulous melancholy. Honestly, Sorry About the Flowers is a mood album. It’s weepy and sleepy, which don’t tend to be feelings that one carries throughout each day. But, it’s also quietly gorgeous, floating on an incandescent cloud above the rainbow on which so many of their fellow Athenians find comfort and influence. [www.onepercentpress.com]