[ATTENDED: May 30, 2018] Flora Cash
Flora Cash had a pretty thankless task when they came out at the Bowery Ballroom.
Aurora was performing her only area appearance (aside from a show at Governor’s Ball that I knew I wasn’t going to). And there was no word of an opening band. It seemed unlikely that she wouldn’t have one, but as late as that evening, there was no word about one.
So when Flora Cash guitarist Cole Randall came out with his hair bleached the color of Aurora’s for a split second many of us thought it was her–until we saw his black beard.
Randall played an acoustic guitar and sang while his partner Shpresa Lleshaj played the laptop–playing beats and backing tracks while she sang lead and backing vocals.
Flora Cash’s backstory was more exciting than their music, I will admit. They told us about how they met between songs, but here’s the condensed version from their website:
Husband-and-wife duo Flora Cash craft atmospheric indie folk and pop music born from a cross-Atlantic courtship. In 2012, the pair met on SoundCloud and struck up a musical connection, leading Shpresa Lleshaj to travel from Stockholm to Minneapolis to meet Cole Randall in person. They returned to Sweden together and immediately began work as Flora Cash. Their debut EP, Mighty Fine, was released just months later. The next year, they released another set of harmonious tracks on Made It for You. Flying back to Minneapolis, they got married and honeymooned in Los Angeles before making their way back to Europe in 2014. Their third EP, I Will Be There, was issued that year. After signing with Icons Creating Evil Art, they released mini-LP, Can Summer Love Last Forever, in 2016 and followed that with a full length offering, Nothing Lasts Forever (And It’s Fine) in mid 2017 to rave reviews.
She has a pretty , soaring voice that was quite powerful. She controlled the beats and sounds from her laptop while he played a tiny guitar.
They harmonized well together and while I appreciated that the guitar was loud enough, I found the drum beats too loud for the stage. I didn’t expect to need earplugs but I was glad I had them.
On “Sadness is Taking Over,” Randall sang lead with a kind of acoustic style until the electronics crashed in and they harmonized nicely.
They told us that they’d had a couple of sings that we could sing along to. I don;t know if anyone knew who they were, but their song (which is a single) “You’re Somebody Else” was great. He sang the opening with the acoustic guitar. Then she sang backing vocals like a great folk duo. When she added the drum beat it made the song that much better.
They were a charming and jovial couple and I really wanted them to succeed and they did. They certainly won us over. And if their songs become hits I’ll be able I saw them when….
I’m a bit far behind writing this post. But in the month or so since I saw them, WXPN started playing “You’re Somebody Else,” and just the other day (mid-July) Radio 104.5 Philly was playing it as well. After they played it the DJ said that someone had called in and said she loved this song and that it was the song of the summer. And I saw them when they opened for Aurora.
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