MUSIC REVIEW: May Flower ‘songs from gardens’ EP

songs from gardens is a cohesive project that demonstrates an expert command over experimental production techniques and songwriting. It delivers an atmosphere that is both ethereal, yet palatable. I have really enjoyed listening to this EP on repeat to write this review, and I’m expectantly waiting for whatever UK-based singer-producer May Flower brings out next.  I really recommend listening to this in the morning, sitting cozily with a cup of tea, and enjoying the transition into the NZ summer. (Sorry, North Hemisphere readers!!)

May uses her vocals the way any other singer-producer would use an array of synthesizers. With ethereal and reverb-drenched vowels as pads, leads, textures, she creates an ornate sonic landscape (garden?) that is sure to catch your ear.

The production work on songs from gardens is incredibly well-constructed, and the five tracks maintain a signature sound throughout the 12-minutes the listener spends with it. May Flower produces music that sounds as if Björk listened to In Love With A Ghost (instead of avant-garde electronic music). Every track is stacked with layers and stellar production, but maintains a down-tempo, calm vibe throughout.  Songs from gardens creates a serene and whimsical sonic space to occupy for a quarter of an hour.

Photos by: @varrrrrrrvara

In the opening track welcome, a soft ‘oooo’ stands in for what I mistook for a flute, and sampled ‘aah’s’ come in as chord pads to support the spoken poem May performs. The textural stutters of the lower-pitched samples give the track a forward momentum I didn’t expect to feel.  It truly gives a good first impression of the May Flower sound, and sets the stage of what to expect for the remainder of the EP.

think about summer has this folky drum that sounds like it’s coming from the next room, and lies in direct contrast with the close-range vocals and synth chords. Special mention to the cascade of keys at 1:42 of this track - I love the subtle phaser that gets introduced here, and how the guitar falls into place for the ending portion of the song. On the note of this guitar – it sounds incredibly dry compared to the typically reverb-laden layers in all these tracks, which prevents everything getting washed out.  The guitar comes in twice on the EP, firstly on think about summer and later on worldy affairs – connecting these two tracks sonically when listening to the whole EP as a run.

The excited ‘woo!’ that kicks off no thinking, just growing sets the tone for optimism.  Oddly, this track is exactly the summery vibe which think about summer has just spent two and a half minutes telling me to picture, and these songs work as a very strong pair in the EP ordering.  May’s singing floats effortlessly above a looped vocalization + additional harmonies for the duration of the track, and at several points over the last few months I’ve caught it stuck in my head. The first delivery of ‘no thinking. just growing!’ gives me a fright when it happens, adding to a feeling of whimsical excitement this track elicits for me.

worldy affairs is my favourite track on songs from gardens - a track that reminded me of all the doom-scrolling I did/do in recent times.  I love the slow but considered pace of it all. May’s production techniques are so delicate, weaving in and out of each other like ocean tides. Her solid writing structure also shines through here.In this track, I enjoy the lyricism, the vocal delivery, the weird car-door-shutting impact that happens every couple of bars.  This song didn’t get stuck in my head the way think about summer or no thinking, just growing did, but it’s the one that resonated with me the most. 

I love the doubled higher pitched vocals that come in on the line “I want to believe good things are still happening these days”, and the near-spoken “still some good things happening” which feels so pained compared to the rest of the vocals over the EP.

Last in the track listing, together is a conclusive ending to an incredibly interesting and cohesive project – it’s more of what the listener should expect at this point, with the exception of, what sounds like, timpani keeping tempo.  I really treasure the soft fade out, and the brief moment of silence (before Spotify decides to auto-play a completely different genre of music!).

Honestly, I don’t have many criticisms or complaints about this EP. May knows what she’s setting out to achieve and she’s achieving it.  I think a lot of the skills on display here will naturally grow with time, and her future projects will grow steadily alongside that skillset.

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You can listen to songs from gardens on Spotify or Apple Music.