Since their 2017 debut (Total Hell), I’ve been enjoying Joy Cleaner’s balancing act between ’90s alt pop and classic indie rock. For a moment, I thought Spent Flowers, which was released last Friday, was the band’s third album. Then I noticed the subtitle 2015-2020, and read the fine lines: Spent Flowers is an odds-and-ends collection with songs from cassingles, flexidiscs, digital only releases and compilations. To top it off, there are four previously unreleashed tracks.
In a literal sense, Spent Flowers may be a compilation album – not unlike Superchunk’s Tossing Seeds, but to me it feels like the band’s third album anyway. This is far from a collection of throwaways, and the sequencing gives the album a natural flow. Easter Tuesday and Car Crashing Through The Door are just some of the gems included on this record, but there are many more.
Order now on vinyl at Jigsaw Records. RIYL: The Lemonheads, Guided By Voices, Connections.
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