After attending the same Nirvana show in 1991, the future members of Flowerland reconvened and decided to form a band, based on advice they received from Kurt Cobain. Created in the middle of the grunge movement of the ’90s, the group wanted a style equivalent to crossing Soundgarden with Led Zeppelin. Songs on The Caffeine Disk EP were originally released in 1993, which is why it has such a raw, authentic sound. However, in 2012, the six tracks were remastered and rereleased as the record in 2013.
While the disc is a little short, it packs a major rock punch. Each track contains heavy guitars, quick drumming, and fast vocals in an occasionally screaming voice. On the opener, “Crazy Horse,” singer Roger Guimond wails in the typical angsty fashion to not let “the man” make you stray from your path. The most metaphorical song on the record, “(Jim Brown’s) Military Country” includes the unusual lines, “I once thought of you as marmalade/Spread on toast that’s just been made/ And I imagined the taste of the bite.” Flowerland briefly venture into psychedelia with “Kill Alice (Slowly),” which tells the story of a woman who makes the narrator discover his sensitive side, and features drawn out vocals as well as whimsical noises. The closing track, “Flow,” underscores an incredibly catchy guitar riff and accurately captures the style for which the band was aiming.
Although it has been remixed and remastered, The Caffeine Disk EP still contains the essence of the grunge movement. The disc features an angsty attitude and back-to-basics rock sound, as well as deep lyrics and growling vocals. Flowerland could have become one of the great bands of the ’90s, as they had the music; all that was missing was a large studio backing them.
In A Word: Raw
