Despite the caricature of a grizzled and embittered rock critic, I fancy myself a deeply sentimental person. I swoon, I get heartsick, I stargaze, I woolgather.

Jason Bronson strikes me as a fellow moony-eyed dreamer. In both their solo work and as a member of Sunset Honor Unit and Delorean Gray, Bronson’s compositions feature reflections about first love with tantalizing tintinnabulations. Their songs are gentle and brilliant, drawing inspiration from the endless summers of the Beach Boys and Burt Bacharach.

Formerly known as Sibylline Lover, Bronson enlisted fellow SHU and Delorean Gray bandmates Jacob Chisenhall and Freeman Leverett to help realize their long-standing dream of a fully orchestrated pop record. Featuring a small cadre of players and collaborators, Floral Portrait’s debut reverberates with strings, harps, woodwinds, horns, lap steel, bicycle bells, woodblocks, harpsichord, slide-whistles, musical boxes, crazy harmonies, and (somehow) even more bits of ear candy. Recorded at Glow Studios alongside producer Jesse Mangum, the project conjures the lush, wall-of-sound magic of Phil Specter.

All that pop and circumstance aside, what makes Floral Portrait such a knockout is the level of songwriting and attention to detail. This morning, we’re excited to provide an exclusive premiere before the LP releases tomorrow. “Waves” is a deceptively simple pop gem driven by big piano chords, wilting strings, and stately touches of lap steel guitar. The track saunters alongside Bronson’s hushed vocals. It’s deeply stunning and effective.

“This is one of the final love songs I wrote for the album, and it functions as a conclusive statement on the narrator’s feelings after all of the uncertainty in the lyricism that precedes it,” Bronson says. “I had finished up the piano arrangement and melody just before the pandemic hit. During the lockdown, without access to recording sessions at the Glow for an indeterminate amount of time, I quickly became stuck with this undeveloped song, myself, and a piano for days on end.

“I must have played through the chord progression hundreds of times during that period with nothing better to do. I then got the feeling that this song was worth fully realizing when my roommates expressed to me that they were often moved to tears when they heard me playing through it most mornings.”

Listen below.

Floral Portrait’s debut LP is out tomorrow, Jan. 28, via Marching Banana Records. Vinyl, CDs, and cassettes will also be available through the group’s Bandcamp page.

Floral Portrait will celebrate the release of their self-titled debut on Sat., Feb. 4 with a listening party and small performance at Little Tart in Grant Park. Doors open at 6 p.m. All ages. You can also catch the band in a more experimental setting on Mon., Feb. 27 at Flicker Theatre & Bar alongside Wet Meadow and Kiran + John Fernandes. Doors open at 8 p.m. Admission is $10. Finally, Floral Portrait will host their official release show on Fri., Mar. 3 at Hendershot’s with a full ensemble performance of the album. Doors open at 7 p.m. Admission is $8.

More Info
Bandcamp: floralportrait.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @floralportraitband
Instagram: @floralportrait
SoundCloud: @floralportrait