Flowers (Patreon)

Flowers

Around 1982, Kiwi expatriate New Romantic Zaine Griff approached Kate Bush to sing backing vocals on “Flowers,” a song Griff composed as a tribute to his and Bush’s mentor, acclaimed mime Lindsay Kemp. Already acquainted with Griff, having met him at one of Kemp’s classes years before, Bush enthusiastically appended herself to Griff’s celebration of their mentor. “Lindsay was such a powerful influence on us both,” she told her fanclub. “It was a real pleasure to be part of something dedicated to him.”

Showing up early on Griff’s LP Figvres, “Flowers” does little to endear itself to the listener with its pseudo-Genesis synth-and-guitar exuberance and cloying hippie vigor. Misshapen and nauseating enough to induce polychromatic projectile vomit, Griff’s song dishes out the least interesting flavors of the New Romantic aesthetic. “With so much love to share,” Bush is the only person apart from Griff who seems to be having fun, curling her sound around Griff’s lead vocals, in an act of solidarity between two artists that’s less appealing than it should be.

(Griff.) Issued 1982. Griff — vocals, production. Zimmer — production.