EP REVIEW: Bouquet – Feel In Color

‘…There is both a rawness and a beauty to their sound, and it is difficult to truly convey how amazingly both factors are woven together…’

Since their very inception, Iowa’s Bouquet have been a special band; should a list of best debut singles ever be produced here, ‘Glisten’ may well be found at its very peak. The following 2021 EP ‘Cardinal’ continued to maintain this incredible quality, and serves as a must-listen experience for anyone who considers themselves a fan of emo or post-hardcore.

Since then, singles have been few and far between for the band, ‘Curtain Call’ dropped back in 2022, and then nothing until the heartbreaking ‘In The Creek’ in 2024. Now four years on from their debut, Bouquet have finally delivered their second EP, ‘Feel In Color’, and seek to prove that the best things in life are worth waiting for. By the end, there is little doubt that they are the best post-hardcore outfit you have never listened to.

Somewhat conceptual in nature, ‘Feel In Color’ guides the listener from the dusk twilight to the early morning, touching upon themes of loss, love, and legacy. Lead single ‘In The Creek’ remains a brilliant, unforgivably heartbreaking listen, with the central theme of pet loss being delivered with a gut-wrenching sense of vulnerability. Furthermore, wonderfully penned lines such as ‘A lesson in love learned/You’ll miss what you’re given‘ will also provide an impactful listen to those who are living through transitional periods in their life, perhaps grieving for a circumstance rather than an individual.

‘Blue Hour (A Stream of Consciousness)‘ is a driving post-hardcore number that perfectly balances moments of twinkling beauty with visceral heaviness, all of it tied together by the incredible vocals of Nick Booth. Whether weaving soaring melodies, murmuring lower-register ruminations, or lashing out with blistering screamed vocals, Booth remains a wildly impressive and remarkably compelling performer. This remains the case on the love-struck number of ‘Feel In Color‘, with its tender yet celebratory atmosphere; the instrumental performances are simpler, yet in place of the complexity is emotive weight, with choruses uplifting the listener with a pure, magical sense of adoration.

The closing number of the EP, ‘Daytime (A Confrontation of Hurt)‘, is perhaps the purest distillation of Bouquet’s magic. Lusciously composed passages of twinkling emo collide with moments of hurtling, cathartic aggression, whilst the track’s back half sees them at their most cinematic to date. The line ‘The axe will forget/But the tree will remember‘ captures perfectly the EP’s themes of letting go of the pain the world inflicts upon you, and this mantra is repeated over a swirling, glittering instrumental, delivered both via heartbreaking sung melodies and cutting screams. The track, and the EP as a whole, fades out with a beautiful little acoustic guitar melody, before leaving the listener in silence.

With an incredible debut and an extensive period of waiting, this EP was at real risk of being a disappointing listen. Instead, what Bouquet have delivered is a sophomore release that evolves upon their sound in a gloriously cinematic way. There is both a rawness and a beauty to their sound, and it is difficult to truly convey how amazingly both factors are woven together; this is a talent that is rare in any scene, and the sound of a collective of musicians who share an unparalleled chemistry and sense of vision.

RATING: 86/100 – Mostly Excellent

For Fans Of: Casey, Bottom Bracket, Holding Absence, Arm’s Length, Careful Gaze

Follow the band on social media:

Instagram // Spotify