Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
There is world of difference between old and new, the second, or even third hand car being driven, the hand me down clothes, the rebound love affair, the original thought against rewriting an old classic, all can still be loved, cared for, even given a new sense of purpose, but what of the natural order, the regifted bouquet, the blossoms turned down and then passed on to the next person that walks past; Old Flowers is normally the sign of an afterthought, of the post-script to a doomed relationship, and yet in the hands of Courtney Marie Andrews, Old Flowers becomes a reflection of understanding that comes with seeing the beauty of the past, and knowing that you have to whisper goodbye to each individual petal to regain your own self back.
It is in the aftermath and the finality of any relationship that we have the imagination to reconcile the way we were around that person, and what our true self is, a memory of passion spent and how we may find the next time we are confronted with colourful blooms, they are given with sincerity, and the person who offered them, wants to care for the flowers as much as they appear to want to see you blossom.
Heartbreak has a universal language all of its own, like the linguistics of flowers, it can be revealing, eye-opening, full of rage, despair, unhappiness, guilt, but in the end, as Ms. Andrews shows with simplicity and style, what is evident that being alone, being vulnerable, is a stepping stone to personal fulfilment, that the best lover and friend you can have is your own mental well-being.
Across tracks such as If I Told You, Together Or Alone, Carnival Dream, the illuminating It Must Be Someone Else’s Fault and the album closer of Ships In The Night, the sense of therapeutic and liberating rhythm, of the roundness of the lyric and the charm of the voice, is more than evident, it is an offering of a truth that informs the listener that they are not alone, they never have been, somewhere inside their own soul is someone who will listen, who knows that Old Flowers can still tell a story, can still contain the scent of attraction.
You would expect nothing less than sincere and truthful from Courtney Marie Andrews, so it is with Old Flowers, an album of exacting love and pride in forgiveness.
Courtney Marie Andrews releases Old Flowers on June 5th.
Ian D. Hall