Get emotionally sucker-punched by Florist's new track, "What I Wanted To Hold," see them at Boot and Saddle - WXPN | Vinyl At Heart
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Florist | photo via florist.bandcamp.com

You know those songs that just kind of sucker punch you with all of the feels? Indie folk / soft synth outfit Florist’s song “What I Wanted to Hold” is one of them. The NY band just shared the heartbreaking single in anticipation of their upcoming sophomore album If Blue Could Be Happiness, which is out on September 29th.

Opening with floaty acoustic strums and the sounds of a life in rewind, the song immediately conjures an intense nostalgia that rivals the likes of Bon Iver’s “Re: Stacks” or “Towers.” Its gentle, sweet chords grab your heart — piercing it with an ache that was nonexistent just moments ago.

And this is all before frontwoman Emily Sprague even opens her mouth. Then hits the wistful utterance of the first verse: “Yellow light on the wall / I can close my eyes and return / to the home I remember in a blur / of sights and smells and sounds of old.” That, my friend, is when you know you’re a goner. At least I did when I first heard the song at work and realized a growing tightness in my throat and quickly welling eyeballs.

At face value, the lyrics sung by Sprague might appear simple, and you wonder how this seemingly little tune can be so powerful against your steely walls of defense. But its precisely this abstract relatability that packs such a profoundly meaningful punch. Aided by the soft melancholy of Sprague’s voice, lines like “the air is light blue today” somehow transform into cause for weeping.

In an interview with Fader magazine, Sprague says the song is a “contemplative journey” that focuses on the impermanent state of life. She goes on to say: “It also deals with the melancholy of remembering and the little associations (colors) that we make to people and places, to hold on to these things that are either already gone, nearing an end, or just beginning.”

After a run of dates with Pinegrove and Lomelda, Florist will be performing at Boot and Saddle on October 25th with Hello Shark. Find info on the 21+ show here. But before then, seclude yourself for a second, throw on some headphones, and listen to “What I Wanted to Hold” below.

Tour dates:

9/20 – Burlington, VT @ ArtsRiot *
9/21 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz PDB *
9/22 – Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground *
9/24 – Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop *
9/26 – Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck *
9/27 – Oklahoma City, OK @ 89th Street (OKC) *
9/28 – Houston, TX @ Walter’s Downtown *
9/29 – Austin, TX @ Barracuda *
9/30 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada *
10/2 – El Paso, TX @ The Perch at Tricky Falls *
10/3 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress *
10/5 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echoplex *
10/6 – San Diego, CA @ The Irenic *
10/7 – Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room *
10/10 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst (Atrium) *
10/11 – San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s *
10/12 – Reno, NV @ The Holland Project *
10/14 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater *
10/16 – Iowa City, IA @ Gabe’s *
10/17 – Sioux Falls, SD @ Total Drag Records *
10/18 – Fargo, ND @ The Aquarium *
10/19 – Minneapolis, MN@ 7th St Entry *
10/20 – Milwaukee, WI@ The Back Room at Colectivo *
10/21 – Madison, WI @ The Rathskeller
10/22 – Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen
10/24 – Washington, DC @ DC9
10/25 – Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle
10/26 – Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East (Upstairs)
10/27 – Brooklyn, NY @ The Park Church Co-Op

* w/ Pinegrove and Lomelda

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