Flower Face’s ‘Girl Prometheus’ Is a Wistful, Introspective Pop Dream — Album Review

The album cover for musical artist Flower Face's "Girl Prometheus," featuring a young white woman softly smiling while glancing over her shoulder on a dark orange and black background. Her face is dimly lit.

If there’s one musical genre I flock to like catnip, it’s that artful blend of dreamy, ethereal alt-pop. It scratches a specific itch in my brain like no other. So, naturally, artists like Flower Face are almost always on my radar. The professional moniker for Montreal-based solo artist Ruby McKinnon, Flower Face deftly captures love and loss in all its relatable pain and ineffable beauty.

Girl Prometheus, Flower Face’s latest studio release, takes the tale of the titular Greek mythological god and puts its own spin on it. Instead of gifting humanity with technology, knowledge, and civilization, this Prometheus offers love. What transpires next is the rise and fall of that love, which Flower Face chronicles in evocative, visceral lyricism. McKinnon lays it all on the page, as it were, in an aching vulnerability and with the maturity of one who’s lived a thousand lifetimes.

A Musical Soundscape 

Girl Prometheus takes Flower Face’s signature sound and expands its scope. Its opening track, “Biblical Love,” boasts an undercurrent of ’90s alt-rock, especially as it barrels toward a cinematic climax, where the marriage of thrashing electric guitars and soft strings effectively builds toward a cathartic release. Throw in McKinnon’s guttural screams layered over that big, bold sound, and you have a recipe for alt-rock success.

Other tracks like “Cat’s Cradle,” “Valentine,” and “Cordelia” are rather string-heavy and melancholic, while “Maniac” is driven by a steady acoustic guitar. You’ll even hear the occasional steel guitar in the aforementioned “Biblical Love” and “Skeleton Key.” “Squirrel Cinderella” feels like a raw, stripped-down diary entry buoyed by a softly played piano.

“Pushing Daisies” experiments with a techno, electronica sound, complete with a drum beat that takes center stage. The closing tune, “If I Beg You,” is a lovely bookend and a companion piece to “Biblical Love.” Similar to the album’s opening song, “If I Beg You” is cinematic and atmospheric, feeling like it belongs in a film score. Even though the composition and musical arrangements are similar, the lyrics couldn’t be more diametrically opposed.

Introspective Lyricism

The lyrics are easily the most impressive aspect of Girl Prometheus. McKinnon is an innately gifted lyricist. This album boasts an emotionally charged, lyrically mature arc, culminating in a cohesive narrative.

Each track is the connective tissue of an overarching story, conveying resonant themes that ultimately intertwine. If you want songs about heartbreak, grief, trauma, love, yearning, desire, and loss, Flower Face has you covered. “Biblical Love” is about longing for all-consuming love but feeling you can only be worthy of receiving it if you fit society’s classification of what a woman should be.

“Cat’s Cradle” addresses the nuances of burgeoning love and even infuses a parasocial relationship slant regarding celebrity crushes. What happens when that love is one-sided? When the other person doesn’t know you exist? I love the line, “I chase the light that chases you.” It’s so simple, yet it packs an emotional punch.

I Will Learn to Love This World

“Maniac” references “Biblical Love,” and, given the Promethean narrative here, this ties in thematically with the album. We see the fallout of that larger-than-life love and how one picks up the pieces.

“Valentine,” perhaps the epitome of yearning on Girl Prometheus, showcases the idealistic yet unrealistic perspective of love we see in cinema. McKinnon poignantly writes about giving so much of yourself to the point of prioritizing the other person over your well-being. Musically and lyrically, it’s a beautiful track — an amalgam of sweeping strings, piano, and drums.

“You’re so good at leaving, can you teach me how?”

Meanwhile, “Eternal Sunshine” pivots to a more empowering tone about regaining autonomy and finding your voice in the face of heartbreak. Lyric-wise, it’s Flower Face’s best work on Girl Prometheus. “You make your mouth the sun; you swallow everyone. But I won’t ever let you find me,” delivers a visceral wallop. “I will eat up every part of your rotten little heart” is catharsis personified for those of us who’ve experienced this kind of pain.

“Cordelia” focuses on enduring the stages of grief — sometimes simultaneously — while relying on vices to stay afloat. Similarly, “Squirrel Cinderella” takes this further, complete with McKinnon’s wispy, haunting harmonies. It’s about drowning out the world in the wake of loss.

Let You Take the Stars From Their Eyes

“Skeleton Key” is more musically layered and diverse, incorporating a stirring string arrangement, steel guitar, and slightly uptempo yet propulsive drums to drive the story forward. In it, McKinnon laments about giving your all for someone who couldn’t care less. However, your love for them remains, and you’d rather dream if it means you can see them again.

“Pushing Daisies” exhibits a nice, steady beat, complete with the aforementioned electronica/techno vibes. It digs deep into being with someone who only wants love if it’s explosive and violent.

“If I Beg You” serves as the perfect button for Girl Prometheus, depicting a woman rising like a phoenix from the ashes and recognizing her self-worth. While it begins with begging a partner to stay, it culminates in a powerful anthem. McKinnon stands up to that partner and acknowledges that she deserves better.

Worth a Listen

Girl Prometheus is a lyrically rich, vulnerable, and musically satisfying ride, delivering a message that cuts to the core in a profoundly relatable way. Flower Face does dreamy alt-pop so well, and McKinnon is in her element here.

Crank it up and prepare to feel a lot of things.

Girl Prometheus is now available wherever you get your music.

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