Whereas a lot of their solo contemporaries understandably fixate on shady exes, FLO additionally uplift the great dudes on AAA. Explicitly starry-eyed tracks just like the candy, kinda crunk “Test”—which runs down a listing of a associate’s fascinating traits (“Is he trustworthy? Test…”) over sweaty entice 808s—and the doting “Bending My Guidelines” have fun regular, reliable males. On lead single “Stroll Like This,” with its stiletto-clicking beat, they sing concerning the aftershocks of nice intercourse—wobbly knees and feelings—whereas the Dreamgirls-inspired title observe, “AAA,” is a whispered invitation to foreplay over a collection of go-go snares and showy hi-hats. These songs would possibly really feel traditionalist in some methods, however FLO’s thought of partnership is reciprocal and well-earned. “If I offer you the whole lot, it higher imply the whole lot, not simply something,” they make clear on “AAA.” Later, they surprise, “How does it really feel to know I may have anybody however you the one which I need?”
Simply when the vibe begins to get too coddling, they stability it with a little bit venom, threatening to key vehicles on the cautionary story “Caught Up,” a femme-fatale callback to the millennial aloofness of Blu Cantrell. This course correction occurred deliberately within the midst of recording. Douglas informed Dazed this previous September, “We had been capable of see that we had 4 songs that had been, like, ‘I really like my man,’ and 4 songs that had been [all] ‘I’m a Dangerous Bitch,’ however the place had been the songs about ourselves?” Considered one of their self-love gems, “In My Bag,” incorporates a bullish GloRilla visitor verse and a speedy beat switch-up made for Peloton rides whereas FLO boast about being their very own greatest followers: “What I acquired is manifested/I don’t even gotta strive.” It’s an aspirational degree of self-possession within the lineage of TLC. Even the icy breakup anthem “IWH2BMX” (“I Would Hate to Be My Ex”) exudes glow-up vitality: “I’m a pop star like Rihanna,” they gloat.
What makes these songs significantly putting is FLO’s vocal chemistry and fairness. Their main collaborator, British producer-songwriter MNEK (whose credit embrace Beyoncé, Little Combine, Kylie Minogue, and Dua Lipa), retains the group’s tones heat and exact because the album winds all the way down to dreamier slow-burners just like the pillowy “Gentle” and “On and On,” a blushing ballad that appears like a soothing spa soak. As a collective, FLO and MNEK are keyed in on the precise sweet-and-salty frequency that makes a lady group pop. Impressively, none of those tracks really feel like filler, and even a few of the much less fast standouts take a captivating or stunning flip, whether or not it’s the plush, barely maudlin Dynasty-style strings on “Shoulda Woulda Coulda” or the rock-leaning nearer “I’m Only a Lady,” a rallying cry about dealing with trade pushback. It’s a document that, whereas misplaced tonally and doubtlessly polarizing (“This tune ain’t for everyone,” they acknowledge at one level), exhibits FLO’s willingness to experiment.
Perfection isn’t simply the aim for the typical woman group—it’s gospel, and FLO are shamelessly invested. The search isn’t literal, in fact (no person’s flawless), however about following the examples set by their forebears: clear vocals, tight harmonies, and choreography with one thing significant behind it. Quaresma informed Teen Vogue, “I feel we really feel like we’re in good firm with the woman teams which have come earlier than as a result of we all know that we are able to work onerous sufficient to be seen as one among them at some point.” You may inform they’ve studied not simply their influences’ lyrics, enunciations, and double-time flows however all of the intangibles, too (they’ve sung on treadmills for follow like DC). And so they’ve used that data to craft a debut that’s neither overly formulaic nor purely ornamental, one which comes from a youthful, self-actualized lens. Acesss All Areas makes a case that their pursuit of a extra good union is inside attain.
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