"Wondrous Flowers"

“Wondrous Flowers” is one of those post-punk songs that progresses like a three-legged race, intent on collapsing right from the get-go. That incessant guitar riff is too jumbled and warped, the drums too fast and chaotic, the bass too loud and funky. And then there are Mike Andre’s lyrics, which seem transplanted from somewhere else entirely—maybe a number from My Fair Lady—as he sings in a distracted, conversational deadpan, like he’s nervously watching it all go down from the corner of his eye. After each verse, Puff Pieces tease the wipeout that seems inevitable—erupting into disorder, like all their instruments started disintegrating at once—before snapping back into action. There’s a little bit of Pink Flag in the song’s anxious energy and a good deal of Double Nickels on the Dime in its droll bassline, but Puff Pieces have a dynamic that’s all their own. It’s hard to take your eyes off them, even when they seem hell-bent on destruction.