When you witness the abrasive soundscapes of Mama I’m Bad your mind can easily wander to the pre-Sister albums of Sonic Youth. If not immediately, then certainly when you hear the vocal delivery on 16th & Mission with it’s total Kim Gordon no-wave coolness. It’s not that MALFLORA don’t work up some tasty hooks, the point is these juggernauts of motorik defiance are best devoured whole to allow the desolate aesthetic to take hold. The corrosive guitars, stampeding rhythm, and breathless vocals of Emergent are an album highlight.
There’s a serious undercurrent of beautiful noise emitting from New Orleans (last year we fell for Pricked) and this debut from MALFLORA was recorded in collaboration with Alphabet Sound Observatory, an audio engineer library for Black and Indigenous women and LGBTQIA+ artists of color in New Orleans, LA.
