Frail Body - Artificial Bouquet (Album Review)

Twitter:   / jukeboxinfinite   ★★★★ Artificial Bouquet may arguably be Frail Body at its best, though it likely doesn't matter to them what their "best" could be defined as. Above all else, this feels like a band of pure emotional release before anything, and said release just so happens to be produced by a trio of highly talented musicians. This record does not feel like the expelling of negative emotions, nor does it feel like a nihilistic embrace of them. Rather, Artificial Bouquet is a record made to acknowledge feelings of hurt and regret, perhaps in an attempt to move on to a degree. When Lowell Shaffer delivers the final lines on the record, "I'll get you to the lake some day/A sediment bed you'll rest," all you can do is take in what remains of a record that feels frayed, devastating, and otherwise broken in a way that is heart-achingly beautiful in its best moments.