A synthesized xylophone chimes like a bell at midnight, before a smooth and jazzy drum beat kicks this seductive track into gear. The sultry tone is set immediately – we’re getting excited and perhaps moving our shoulders to the rhythm of the hot, bustling city night we have been sonically transported to. “Dark Thoughts About a Pretty Flower” is easy listening in the best way – a tight, clean package of alt-pop music that injects swing, blues and electronica in perfect doses. The track does not provide an excess of lyrics – instead, what the Lovelines offer is something to switch your mind off to, and sway your hips to. The symbolism within the few lyrics of the song is strong enough to stand alone; evocative, romantic and abundant with imagery.
You’re my sunshine / got a rose that blooms in the moonlight
You’re my valentine / got a rose that wilts in the sunshine
Upon first listen, the impressive brother-sister musical duo seem to paint a picture of unorthodox love in their playful lyrics, perhaps one of a taboo nature – the forbidden partnership, or an illicit affair. “Dark Thoughts About a Pretty Flower” provides the safe space for evil to thrive, encouraging you to embrace your not-so kid-friendly cognitions of another person, and to give in to temptations. It turns out that the song has an even more poetic undercurrent – inspired by the tale of a young woman who is enraptured by a rose that is trying to make its way to sunlight. She wishes to know if it will survive and bloom, or wilt and fail to find the sun. This struggling rose is a metaphor for her own relationship, the woman projecting her questioning onto the flower as she ponders if her love affair will thrive or break down.
Dark thoughts / pretty flower
Oh yeah will it bloom my love / will it wilt my love?
If I can’t watch it bloom then I’ll just watch it wilt
Naturally, a part of the excitement in these types of romances is the complete unknowing of how it will play out; at times you feel like a passenger whisked away on a thrilling journey which could come to a halt at any given moment. This love burns bright, but is it sustainable in the passage of time? For the course of this song, it doesn’t matter – we lean in to the danger of it.
The Lovelines repeat their catchy lyric lines throughout, but shift the composition around them to fully explore the melody. Gritty electric guitar comes in around sensual vocals, then a synthesizer whirls playfully up and down in psychedelic fashion. A meandering organ comes in to evoke a scene of a gothic cocktail bar doused in red light, where interesting characters drink wine and dance.
