Floral Couches is the “sexy solo moniker of Chicago musician and songwriter Cody Gray. After creating lo-fi fever dream sounds with synthesizers on his last album Electric Fever, Cody returns more than a year later with the R&B and jazz influenced pop EP glitter. It sounds exactly as the name implies with twinkling percussion, smooth instrumentation and a late-night aesthetic. A much more organic feel than past works, glitter brings you into a world all its own that you won’t want to leave.
The EP was recorded in Gray’s home studio in Chicago using Logic. His recording is truly a DIY project – lead guitars coming from a hand-made 5f1 tube amp and rhythm recorded from a JC40 (not sure what that is but it sounds homemade, too). Lots of percussion was added as well, such as the triangle, wood block and chimes and synth sounds coming from two different sets ups. The opening track “Welcome” is a groovy, synth infused intro with a little futuristic style thrown in. The beginning to “Feelings I Can’t Control” reminds me of one of Prince’s obscure late-night songs he would center an entire album on – yeah, Prince never stopped writing and recording. The sexy style is evident – the feathery guitar melodies, the kinky funky beats, and of course the synth, all add to a slow moving and soulful R&B styled song. “Hold On” keeps up the same beat somewhat, albeit with a faster tempo. The synths are jumpier and anxious (not to mention kind of catchy) and the overall style is more modern, like say a Justin Timberlake tune. I also thought the guitar playing was quite good, sounding more like a harp. “Dull Inside” features a thick, syrupy beat – thumpy and ear splitting, if played in the car I suppose. The synth has an ethereal sound, magical and “dream like.” Sexy style is definitely in this song’s DNA. I liked how this one fades out, too. The last tune “TY” (which I’m guessing stands for ‘thank you’) begins with a sporadic beat, spacious guitar chords and wood block percussion. Very lightly in the background there is a shaker playing as well. My only drawback to this instrumental-only song was that it was too short – I was really getting into it. All in all, this was an interesting EP and one that was very focused on a sexy style – whether the song was more pop, jazz, lo-fi or R&B – the EP’s underlining feeling was all about the sexy grooves.
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