Silk Flowers

New York's Silk Flowers are the type of band you'll either love or hate. After all, when a group are led by a voice that makes Ian Curtis's seem downright cheery, it's hard to be universally loved. But baroquely deadpan vocals aside, Silk Flowers do have some endearing qualities, mostly their knack for reviving and twisting up some always-fashionable Krautrock-styled electronics. Often, the group come across like some crude, lo-fi version of Harmonia or, to put things in a more modern context, like John Maus's goth-tinted American cousins. And, really, there's nothing wrong with that, especially when Silk Flowers put the dirtied-up synths in the forefront during instrumental tracks like "Night Shades" and "Birds of Passion," and let the keys do all the talking. As a whole album, and a brief 27-minute one at that, Silk Flowers are by no means on the ball at all times, but the record has its moments.