Flowers Taped To Pens - Self-Titled 7"

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     Some bands use the buildup effectively. They can play around with a few plodding, repetitive notes and take the listener to comfortable heights before letting them down slowly and with ease, like an old man submerging himself in a lukewarm bath. Some bands use the buildup to just lay waste to anything and everything around them. They add layer upon layer of burning, broiling anger and paranoia until the plateau just can't contain the energy any longer and the crest explodes with a fiery passion that rivals the destruction of Pompeii. Flowers Taped To Pens (FTTP) are definitely in the latter group.
     FTTP play the Real Skramz with some very traditional Emo leanings. There are the requisite slightly off-key clean vocals that bend and swell and crescendo into outright maddening shrieks that would make any mother bird happy. There are twinkles here and there and plenty of cathartic feedback-drenched outbursts. Couple that with the absolutely naked lyrics of sadness, regret, uncertainty and loss and you have one hell of a complete package for anyone interested in the sounds of pure emotion.
     The young men in this band do a great deal for their community and their local San Diego scene. There are a number of other amazing bands within this family of dedicated Punx who want nothing more than to create and nurture safer spaces for everyone to feel comfortable. I had the pleasure of booking a show for a couple of their brother bands, Nayru, whom I have written about before, and Meryl Streaker. Both bands should be of great interest to anyone with even a passing curiosity for fall-on-the-floor, chaotic Hardcore with heart.
     All in all, I really don't know what else to say about this band and the wonderful lineage of other bands they have had a hand in creating. I guess I am a little biased in favor of anything these folks decide to create from now on. Spending time with them made this old man feel young again. They were wonderful house guests and I feel so blessed to be able to call them my friends.
     It hasn't been easy finding sonic comparisons. I guess I would have to say you will most assuredly like this if you have ever found yourself grooving to the sounds of the Kodan Armada, Helen Of Troy, Thoughts Paint The Sky, Sailboats, Cassettes On Fire and/or I Wrote Haikus About Cannibalism In Your Yearbook. Enough said, just listen.