Montreal’s Flotilla specializes in ethereal pop, mixing tinkling harp with chiming, reverb-y guitars and jazzy rhythms. Frontwoman Veronica Charnley sounds near-identical to St. Vincent’s Annie Clark, a similarity that’s accentuated by choral harmonies and fairytale melodies.
“Prélude and Epilogue” is a gorgeously dreamy offering from the group’s second album, One Hundred Words for Water. Purring horns set a soothing backdrop for a laid back electric piano groove, although the rhythm occasionally slows down for a measure, meaning that you can’t ever get too comfortable.
The first half of the song (the “Prélude” part, I suppose) is a surreal narrative about a shipwreck, in which the crew disembarks on the ocean floor and meets an underwater queen. After a distorted crescendo, the song breaks down into a sparse refrain of “Autumn’s here, it’s almost too late / To dive into this cold lake” (the “Epilogue”). It’s a beautiful, evocative lyric that almost anyone can relate to—enough to make you forget that the story is pretty much “Octopus’s Garden” without an octopus.
MP3: “Prélude and Epilogue”
“Prélude and Epilogue” is a gorgeously dreamy offering from the group’s second album, One Hundred Words for Water. Purring horns set a soothing backdrop for a laid back electric piano groove, although the rhythm occasionally slows down for a measure, meaning that you can’t ever get too comfortable.
The first half of the song (the “Prélude” part, I suppose) is a surreal narrative about a shipwreck, in which the crew disembarks on the ocean floor and meets an underwater queen. After a distorted crescendo, the song breaks down into a sparse refrain of “Autumn’s here, it’s almost too late / To dive into this cold lake” (the “Epilogue”). It’s a beautiful, evocative lyric that almost anyone can relate to—enough to make you forget that the story is pretty much “Octopus’s Garden” without an octopus.
MP3: “Prélude and Epilogue”
