Whereas lots of their solo contemporaries understandably fixate on shady exes, FLO additionally uplift the great dudes on AAA. Explicitly starry-eyed tracks just like the candy, kinda crunk “Verify”—which runs down a list of a companion’s fascinating traits (“Is he trustworthy? Verify…”) over sweaty lure 808s—and the doting “Bending My Guidelines” have fun regular, reliable males. On lead single “Stroll Like This,” with its stiletto-clicking beat, they sing in regards to the aftershocks of nice intercourse—wobbly knees and feelings—whereas the Dreamgirls-inspired title monitor, “AAA,” is a whispered invitation to foreplay over a collection of go-go snares and showy hi-hats. These songs would possibly really feel traditionalist in some methods, however FLO’s concept of partnership is reciprocal and well-earned. “If I provide you with the whole lot, it higher imply the whole lot, not simply something,” they make clear on “AAA.” Later, they surprise, “How does it really feel to know I might have anybody however you the one which I need?”
Simply when the vibe begins to get too coddling, they steadiness it with a little bit venom, threatening to key vehicles on the cautionary story “Caught Up,” a femme-fatale callback to the millennial aloofness of Blu Cantrell. This course correction occurred deliberately within the midst of recording. Douglas advised Dazed this previous September, “We had been in a position to see that we had 4 songs that had been, like, ‘I like my man,’ and 4 songs that had been [all] ‘I’m a Unhealthy Bitch,’ however the place had been the songs about ourselves?” One in every of their self-love gems, “In My Bag,” encompasses a bullish GloRilla visitor verse and a speedy beat switch-up made for Peloton rides whereas FLO boast about being their very own largest followers: “What I bought is manifested/I don’t even gotta strive.” It’s an aspirational stage of self-possession within the lineage of TLC. Even the icy breakup anthem “IWH2BMX” (“I Would Hate to Be My Ex”) exudes glow-up vitality: “I’m a pop star like Rihanna,” they gloat.
What makes these songs notably hanging is FLO’s vocal chemistry and fairness. Their main collaborator, British producer-songwriter MNEK (whose credit embody Beyoncé, Little Combine, Kylie Minogue, and Dua Lipa), retains the group’s tones heat and exact because the album winds all the way down to dreamier slow-burners just like the pillowy “Tender” and “On and On,” a blushing ballad that seems like a soothing spa soak. As a collective, FLO and MNEK are keyed in on the precise sweet-and-salty frequency that makes a lady group pop. Impressively, none of those tracks really feel like filler, and even among the much less fast standouts take an enthralling or stunning flip, whether or not it’s the plush, barely maudlin Dynasty-style strings on “Shoulda Woulda Coulda” or the rock-leaning nearer “I’m Only a Woman,” a rallying cry about going through trade pushback. It’s a file that, whereas misplaced tonally and probably polarizing (“This music ain’t for everyone,” they acknowledge at one level), reveals FLO’s willingness to experiment.
Perfection isn’t simply the purpose for the typical woman group—it’s gospel, and FLO are shamelessly invested. The search isn’t literal, after all (no one’s flawless), however about following the examples set by their forebears: clear vocals, tight harmonies, and choreography with one thing significant behind it. Quaresma advised Teen Vogue, “I believe we really feel like we’re in good firm with the woman teams which have come earlier than as a result of we all know that we will work onerous sufficient to be seen as considered one of them someday.” You’ll be able to inform they’ve studied not simply their influences’ lyrics, enunciations, and double-time flows however all of the intangibles, too (they’ve sung on treadmills for apply like DC). And so they’ve used that information to craft a debut that’s neither overly formulaic nor purely ornamental, one which comes from a youthful, self-actualized lens. Acesss All Areas makes a case that their pursuit of a extra excellent union is inside attain.
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