Floral Print - Floral print's Guide to Practical Living & Magical Thinking

floral print’s guide to practical living and magical thinking is the culmination of almost exactly five years of work from atlanta’s floral print, the nearly ten-year-old project of Nathan Springer and Clover Demerritt. A labor of love, but also of loss, lethargy, and laughter in the face of the absurd, floral print’s guide was engineered by long-time collaborator Graham Tavel, who has recorded all of the band’s output since 2015’s woo.

Following the recording mirror stages in 2017 and a self-titled EP in 2019, both of which were released by Tiny Engines, Nathan, Clover, and bassist Josh Pittman set to work writing and recording the A-side of a new album in 2018. The songs reflected years of consistent touring, including runs with DIY vets such as Truth Club and They Are Gutting a Body of Water. This dedication to gigging is reflected by the fact that the A-side consists of five songs that comprised the band’s live show for a long stretch of time, highlighted by the retention of the exact sequencing of the songs in their live context. Josh moved to Japan in 2019, but not before finishing all writing and recording duties for the first half of the new record. Multi-instrumentalist Paris Watel-Young joined the group for live shows after Josh’s departure, eventually contributing significantly to both sides of the new record and further pushing the limits of the band’s sound.

Nathan and Clover, fueled by a possibly unhealthy obsession with the B-side of Abbey
Road, set to work on recording the second side of the record, which would tread new stylistic ground for the band, forgoing some of the band’s tendencies toward constantly shifting structures and focusing on psychedelic textures, pop sensibilities, and an overarching suite-like composition. At this point, however, the pandemic and its subsequent emotional toll led to a period of difficulty for the band in terms of writing new material and finishing what had already been recorded. Laboring from 2020 to 2023 and reaching a new stride over time, the band finally finished the record at the end of 2023, after which it was mastered by Max Gowan in early 2024 and prepared for a vinyl release by Rope Bridge Records, Bee Side Cassettes, and Pleasure Tapes.

The resulting record’s A-side is the culmination of floral print’s trademark writing style as honed over nearly a decade – unexpected shifts in composition and tone; pop songwriting punctuated by bursts of noise and ambience; and an unfaltering dedication to rocking. The B-side, however, is something that followers of the band will likely not expect: psychedelic, restrained (relatively), and willing to give ideas more time to gestate and unfold. Together, the sides of the record comprise a sprawling yet cohesive whole. The album will release on May 17th, introducing listeners to a sound both seasoned by years of playing together and rejuvenated by a new approach to collaboration and songwriting. Until then, listeners will have to catch floral print’s live shows to get a taste of what is on the horizon.