REVIEW: Bristletongue's 'Femme Florale' EP Beautifully Conveys Love and Loss

If you aren’t listening to Illinois four piece, Bristletongue, you need to start.

Following similar footsteps of melancholic slowcore songwriter Julien Baker, with the added full band aesthetic of groups like TWIABP&IANLATD or Nervous Dater, Bristletongue takes only four tracks to wrestle with the fragility of loss and despair in their beautifully cohesive debut EP, Femme Florale.

Released only six months ago, the band’s first track “Thistle Among Roses” is an ode to self-doubt and heartbreak. Vocalist L Morgan, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, sings, “I am nothing special, a mediocre voice and song” over a backbone of somber guitar melodies. “Was it worth the wait / To see me on my way?” they croon as the instrumentals pick up. “Daisy Chain” follows, as they sing lightly over a heavier guitar line, “I keep dead daisies / They keep me company / When you leave quite hastily / When you tear your roots out clean.” The lyrics, although emo at their base, become layered with L Morgan’s seemingly classically trained vocals.

“Dandelion” and “Ivy Creep” start out slow and delicate, but are no less extraordinary. “My love, the wall I climb / Mortar and vine intertwine / I’m sorry for the mess I am,” L Morgan agonizes. “Lest we forget / Loving me was not your best bet,” they sing sorrowfully at the end of “Ivy Creep.”

Bristletongue conveys love and loss in only four songs, no less. The flower motif that follows the EP is beautifully done, and the band’s next release will surely be another remarkable work.

Keep up with Bristletongue below:
https://bristletongue.bandcamp.com/album/femme-florale
https://www.facebook.com/bristletongue/
https://twitter.com/bristletongueIL
https://www.instagram.com/bristletongueil/