There have been plenty of shoegaze albums to preoccupy the vibes this year, but few of them past the purity test alongside the novel nature behind it as Welcome Strawberry’s latest, desperate flower. Stemming from the Bay Area’s esoteric DIY scene, the band led by multi-instrumentalist Cyrus Vandenberghe (who is also the bassist of the perpetually iced post-punks Still Ruins) has been growing out its form since their eponymous 2022 debut through a dreamy cross-pollination of swirling ‘gaze, psychedelic plumes, pleasant bursts of noise-pop, and lo-fi tape loops that still render vividly. It all blooms in full wonderfully here on their sophomore effort in which Vandenberghe becomes something of a shoegazing perfume genius where it’s the power of scent that leads he and his band’s creative intuitions with the way the music opens up your senses.

Hitting the broader genre’s tropes on the nose it is not beyond that detail, which is why +rcmndedlisten connected with Vandenberghe to breathe in more about the creation of the album, letting your own senses guide you in the process, and the underrated listens from the past and present of shoegaze’s underbelly that you may want to dig into if you’re looking to discover a different approach to the sound beyond what’s already there on the surface.

+rl: Shoegaze music usually elicits more immediate sensations involving sight and sound — music that makes people feel like they’re in a daze with bright colors swirling all around your reality. desperate flower is actually inspired by the sensation of scent — which you refer to as “the most underrated artform.” Expound on that opinion.

Cyrus Vandenberghe: I feel that scent can have a similar effect in that it can totally change a mood or vibe as soon as you experience it. There is a whole spectrum of scents just like any other medium — from subtle to completely crazy or intoxicating. When I say it’s underrated I’m talking more about the artistry & chemistry behind making a perfume. I’m sure we could name artists in tons of other disciplines, but how many perfumers are household names?

+rl: “violets & honey”. “like a tulip”. “simplesyrup”. Was there a specific scent that really hit you on the nose and tapped into a moment of clarity that informed the overarching theme lingering throughout?

CV: Oh, definitely. I went for a walk in an unfamiliar neighborhood and passed by a certain patch of flowers. It hit me and I was IMMEDIATELY brought back to being five-years-old on a similar morning walk in northern California. It was an extremely vivid memory that was buried deep.

+rl: At any point, did you and the band partake in any scent-sampling exercises where you worked off how your olfactory experiences could potentially translate into writing a really good song? Or were the scents all based around memories that had left a lasting impression on you?

CV: No scent sampling exercises were had but that would be a fun experiment! Definitely the latter. 

+rl: The album is one of the year’s best examples of natural, shoegaze purity. The kaleidoscopic, psychedelic noise synergy and amorphous textures would make the listen a profuse standout even without the sensory context. In a field that’s become saturated with homogenous sounds, what do you think it is that best leads to crafting your own singular instincts?

CV: Wow, thank you so much! I just follow my gut and enjoy walking off the beaten path and seeing what happens. There is a ton of lackluster and straight up pointless art out there. I’d say no matter what genre I was into growing up, I’d always enjoy the stuff on the fringes that marched to it’s own drum — bands like the Number Twelve Looks Like You, Fear Before the March of Flames, the Blood Brothers, Antioch Arrow, Chris Weisman, Microphones, and Ocrilim. My guiding lights for this project are Deerhunter, Animal Collective, and Elite Gymnastics.

+rl: What I think is also a highlight in experiencing an album like desperate flower is how it really invites listeners to indulge deeper into shoegaze and dream-pop’s subterranean artists beyond its more well-known heroes. Be it from the past or today’s modern day hotbeds from the Bay Area to Philly, can you name three underrated albums from the scene someone should discover if they haven’t already?

Past: Fold Zandura’s Ultra Forever, Elite Gymnastics’ Ruin, and Shizuka’s Heavenly Persona

Modern: Kai Tak’ s Hong Kong, forever ☆’s Second Gen Dream, and For Tracy Hyde’s Hotel Insomnia

Welcome Strawberry’s desperate flower is available now on Cherub Dream Records / à La Carte Records.