The Flower Kings – Look At You Now

It’s always a bit intimidating to write about bands, musicians, and bodies of work that have defined a genre—or better yet an entire spectrum of them—especially when their story and influence began long before the writer even had any meaningful musical awareness.

That said, when it comes to The Flower Kings I can quite confidently say (with the inherent margin for error, of course) that I’ve done my homework, having listened to the band actively, retroactively, and quite extensively over the years. In fact, I sort of jumped at the chance to cover this review, having thoroughly enjoyed this album’s predecessor, “By Royal Decree” (2022), and having rejoiced in the band’s pandemic-timed revival with two back-to-back albums featuring never-before-released tracks: “Waiting for Miracles” (2019) and “Islands” (2020). And all of this while founding member Roine Stolt was also busy touring with supergroup Transatlantic alongside Neal Morse (co-founder of Spock’s Beard, currently in The Neal Morse Band, Yellow Matter Custard, Flying Colors), Mike Portnoy (founding member of Dream Theater, currently in Sons of Apollo, The Winery Dogs, Flying Colors, The Neal Morse Band, Metal Allegiance, Liquid Tension Experiment), and Pete Trewavas (member of Marillion, co-founder of Kino and Edison’s Children).

There’s so much to say about The Flower Kings nearly 30 years and more than 15 albums into their mesmerizing career (with the album currently being reviewed, “Look At You Now”, being their 16th studio album). To even limit their music to one genre is insufficient. Melodic progressive rock with epic-length-and-breadth tracks could perhaps be a general umbrella. But so many other things are happening under there:

It’s at times classic rock, at times musical (for some reason, Roine Stolt’s vocals on certain tracks always give me massive Jesus Christ Superstar vibes, while on other tracks I channel Queen in full force), at times space-meets-rock opera; it’s psychedelia-infused, technically challenging, multilayered extravaganza. You get rock, you get jazz, you get complex synth mixes reminiscent of 90s TV themes, you even get hints of Elizabethan music evoking images of whimsical court jesters in colorful costumes. And the best part is that you sometimes get many of those within the same song, since a TFK track rarely starts and ends as the same thing.

Beyond sheer compositional and improvisational talent, as well as, of course, assimilated trends from the era they inhabited at their peak, this complex symphony of sound—rarely orderly, but always masterfully layered in spite of production style variations over the decades—is given its unique flair by the use of multiple types of keyboards, from the grand piano and the famous Hammond to the Mellotron and the Moog synthesizers, on top of the ever-present vocals (solo and harmonies), guitars, bass, and drums.

All of the above is not just an attempt to summarize what The Flower Kings is, but an introduction of sorts to what they still sound like after all these years, on this latest album. For they have, I believe, kept true to their sound, which can often be a point of division among fans of a band that has been around for this long. Some will probably say “Look At You Now” is more of the same. In which case, I guess, that would make me one of the “others”, for I believe that they have crafted such a distinctive blend of music, so influential at one time, that there’s not really much need for them to drastically reinvent themselves. They’ve pretty much made their mark, is what I’m saying. And, having witnessed bands three times younger than The Flower Kings digging themselves into the ground in an endless search for the “newest and freshest tone”, I feel even more strongly that a band having a recognizable sound is not a bad thing. Especially when album no. 16 of said band can still bring as much joy to a listener as this one has brought, well, me.

“By Royal Decree” already saw the return of founding member Michael Stolt to the band after more than two decades, and on “Look At You Now” he is once again lending his vocals to the traditional Roine Stolt – Hasse Fröberg vocal duo, on top of covering bass, keyboards, and guitars. Mirko DeMaio is covering drums, percussion, and keyboards, while multiple other collaborators—Hasse Bruniusson, Lalle Larsson, Jörgen Sälde—round out the album’s sound on every level, from complex instrumental arrangements to mesmerizing vocal harmonies.

As is the case with pretty much every TFK album, the psychedelic cover artwork (designed by artist Joey Tessier) clues you into the journey of sound, color, and whimsy you’re about to embark on. There’s something inherently uplifting about the band’s musical and lyrical themes, which you can already sense as the album sets into its first track, the up-tempo ‘Beginner’s Eyes’, which also happens to be the first (and, at the moment of writing this review, the only) single released from the album.

The music immediately sounds pleasantly familiar, with a subtle layer of something new: you can hear the age in their voices, in that endearing way that suggests a life well-lived in service of music well-played. It doesn’t take away from the vocal accuracy or ability in any way, with both Stolt and Fröberg still quite effortlessly hitting the high notes and gliding through harmonies with each other, with Michael, and/or with the wonderful Janice Lund, whose backing vocals you can hear throughout the album. And, since we’re on the subject of vocals, it came as a wonderful surprise to me that the anthemic ‘Day For Peace’ features the ethereal vocals of Marjana Semkina, best known to most from Iamthemorning, and whose absolutely beautiful acoustic covers I highly recommend following on Instagram.

While tracks aren’t nearly the 20+ minute epics that used to start and end The Flower Kings albums of the past (the age of speed must have gotten to them too), the shifts in musical themes and moods are still very much present, with frequent swift oscillations between easy-listening soft melodies and technically-complex instrumentals: epic guitar and keyboard solos, intricate bass lines, and drumming that can go from pure rock to full-on tribal (the drumming pattern on ‘The Dream’, for instance, takes me back to Disney’s Tarzan score composed by Phil Collins and Mark Mancina). You get to experience many – if not all – of the different musical layers described at the beginning of the review, as well as the customary blend of vocal vs instrumental-led tracks (‘Dr Ribedeaux’, ‘The Queen’).

The Flower King’s lyrical themes have always focused on mostly positive, empowering messages. “Look At You Now” doesn’t stray from this tradition, but there’s a notable focus on important current issues. The overarching themes could be summarized, I believe, as “a cautionary tale about mankind failing nature (‘Mother Earth’, ‘Seasons End’, ‘Father Sky’) and ultimately itself (‘Hollow Man’, ‘Scars’).” It’s not bleak, nor is it punishing, but it’s more of an invitation to doing better (“this man inside knows wrong from right”). Light is a leitmotif (cute, but unintentional wordplay here), with most songs referencing it in some way. Ultimately, the album concludes that we are all “looking high and low for a piece of heaven.” The end-track, which also happens to be the title-track and the longest on the album, leaves the listener with hope and quite a bit of string instrument-infused nostalgia.

I will now bring this (somewhat) full circle by once again mentioning how much I enjoyed this album. Above all, it’s inhabited by this palpable, genuine joy of playing that is so mind-boggling to me when I think they’ve been at it for nearly 30 years (lineup changes and activity intermezzos aside). If anything, in the past few years, any signs that The Flower Kings might be over have been pretty much obliterated by the release of new albums, the remastering of older albums, plus a worldwide tour to boot.

Is The Flower Kings genre-defining now? In terms of reinvention, I’d say most likely not. But was it genre-defining then? Ab-so-prog-rock-lutely would be my answer! And while “Look At You Now” was released now instead of then, I strongly believe it is very much worth (at least) a listen.

Track List:

1. Beginner’s Eyes
2. The Dream
3. Hollow Man
4. Dr Ribedeaux
5. Mother Earth
6. The Queen
7. The Light In Your Eyes
8. Seasons End
9. Scars
10. Stronghold
11. Father Sky
12. Day For Peace
13. Look At You Now

Produced By Roine Stolt – 2023
Backing Tracks Recorded At Fenix Studio Varnhem
Engineered By Lars Hallbäck
Album Mixed By Roine Stolt
Artwork By Joey ‘jlo Magneto’ Tessier
(In Memory Of Gino “Dangerman” Tessier)

The live touring unit 2023-2024 will be:

Roine Stolt – Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards, Percussion
Hasse Fröberg – Vocals, Guitar, Percussion
Lalle Larsson – Piano, Organ, Synthesizers
Michael Stolt – Bass, Vocals, Moogbass
Mirko Demaio – Drums, Percussion

(Daniel Lantz – Piano, Organ, Synthesizers – guest on selected shows)