British label Stem has really begun to make a name for itself recently, a fact that’s hardly surprising given the quality of their output to date. For their latest, they turn to emerging producer My Flower, who – if you’ll excuse the shoddy pun – really comes up smelling of roses courtesy of the brilliant Flowers EP. Opening up this most stellar of outings is the refined sounds of the title track itself, ‘Flowers’. Full of majestic tidbits aplenty, it glides at a rugged but also lackadaisical pace, thanks to a beautiful concoction of sumptuous chords and brash synths. A multilayered track that’ll strike an impression on any dancefloor, that’s for sure. Next up is a remix of the latter, which arrives thanks to Winter Sun, who locks horns with vocalist Gavin Miller. Miller’s contribution is sporadic but enchanting and noteworthy, particularly because it lends an almost tangible sense of human emotion to the track’s overall cosmic sheen. Seeing us out the gate is ‘It’s a Farewell’, which signs us off with some panache. Full of more flickering keys, it plays out like a sun-kissed Balearic beauty, and one that’s most welcome at this time of year at that. Stunning work from start to finish, Stem’s latest is sure to win favour with discerning heads especially.
4 out of 5
Reviewed by Ian Fleming
{http://soundcloud.com/the-stem/sets/my-flower-flowers-ep-1}
