Venice is Sinking – Sorry About the Flowers

It seems Venice is Sinking exists in some precarious balance. The band’s weightless and serene sound is kept from drifting off by its seemingly tumultuous existence in reality; the airy Sorry About the Flowers is firmly anchored by familial deaths, relationship breakups (within the band no less), band member losses, Satanic street-numbered residences, and stolen practice spaces. Given the state of upheaval the band seems unable to escape, the beautiful yet dejected Low-scapes found on Sorry About the Flowers are to be expected. Still, whereas Low prefers to sulk along without ever really raising its voices, Venice is Sinking does its moaning at a bit higher volume, opting to fill the empty spaces with an ambient keyboard wall rather than use them as stark punctuation.

From the opening minutes of “Pulaski Heights,” it becomes readily apparent how adept the members of Venice is Sinking are at crafting their sonically opulent Americana. Karolyn Troupe presents as the band’s secret weapon, her viola alone (or violin, depending on the track) providing more than enough hook to snare any pop aficionado. If that’s not enough, the beautifully hazed dual-vocal approach of Troupe and band leader/guitarist Daniel Lawson nestles gently into the din, at times both voices swelling and ebbing as though they were one. Tracks such as “Arkansas” and “To Your Ghost” find Venice is Sinking at its most driving, propelled by an engorged bass ‘n piano low end and razor-sharp snare smacks. In “Curtains,” Troupe’s strings take on a decidedly Celtic flavor, and the track finds the band treading as closely as it dares to Low’s vocal mélange. By the time the album closes with “Blue by Late,” the band has settled into some straight-up ambience, albeit in what proves to be a great idea that falls flat on its face. Constructed from manipulated and rearranged pieces of the previous nine tracks, the result is a nearly 20-minute keyboard drone, spattered sporadically with unrecognizable string arrangements set too low in the mix to draw much attention.

Keyboardist Alex Thibadoux (departed before the release of Sorry About the Flowers and quickly replaced by James Sewell) commands an impressive armada: a Lowery Genie 44 and Micro-Genie, Casio, Conn organ, Wurlitzer, Omnichord, Hammond H6 and XK-2, Roland electric, Magnus, and an upright piano. Tragically, this pianistic armada is of the Spanish sort, as much of the fleet is sunk in the clamor of the other instruments, sadly indistinguishable and used primarily as the aforementioned filler. This instrumental ambiguity extends beyond the keyboards as well, and at times it can become difficult to isolate instruments when the band kicks it into full gear. While their sound is always lush and quite beautiful, the musicians do not always benefit from such full sound and occasionally fuzzed-out production, as individual performances become sacrificed to the full-on ambient rush. This can be especially true for the wonderful vocals, which are often processed just enough to fall in with and eventually become swallowed by the buzz of the instrumentation.

Though the occasionally over-blended and washed-out sound on Sorry About the Flowers may potentially be disheartening to fans of classical instruments in indie settings, it in itself is not nearly enough to dip the scales in any negative way. Venice is Sinking shows incredible pop-chops on this debut, crafting catchy, moving, and enthused tunes inspired by the very ruckus of an existence that births them. Those who enjoy atmosphere and mood over technical procession will likely have little qualms with Sorry About the Flowers’ occasionally dense presentation, and regardless of the specifics of one’s tastes, the many great moments scattered liberally throughout its length are undeniable. Now here’s to hoping these musicians can survive the next battery of misfortune aimed to thwart their sophomore release.