Based out of New Douglas, Illinois, art punk duo Glow In The Dark Flowers’ latest single “Your Reign Is Over” is imbued with a minimalistic kitschy pop quality perfect for a sunny afternoon drive.
Composed of Jessee Rose Crane and Philip Jerome Lesicko, the pair initially came together in the Illinois punk scene as The Funs, self-releasing their harsh noise projects since 2009. The duo became known for their performance art inspired live shows that would see random instrument switches and their noisey hard-nosed material featuring yelps from Crane.
The Funs became known as one of Chicago’s true to heart DIY groups, having reconfigured an abandoned funeral home into a living space and recording studio. In 2018, the duo released their muck-draped debut album Alienating on Sister Polygon Records.
Since then, the group remained hard at work in their rural surroundings, recalibrating their style and changing their name in the process.
On their new single, Crane and Lesicko bring a lighter mood to their muddy sound, reminiscent of The Breeders. Crane’s airy vocals float above the track’s trudging bass line and sparse drum machine patterns. “I said star cross, I can’t figure you out / We said dark thoughts, I still want your sound,” sings Crane in a disenchanted, yet playful tone that weaves perfectly with the song’s bass.
The track’s self-directed video captures Crane and Lesicko in white jumpsuits throwing paint around in a makeshift Igloo of plastic bags. The pair’s good-natured smiles brings an extra fuzzy warmness to the song, you can’t help but feel joy as you watch them give into childlike innocence.
“I wrote this song on a fuzzed-out bass after practicing a lot of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. CBT helps you recognize harmful or unhealthy ways of perceiving the world and reconditions those patterns into a more balanced perspective. Most of my songs are about psychologies or outer space, or both. ‘Your Reign is Over’ refers to evolving past All-or-nothing thinking. It celebrates change and starting over,” details Crane in a press release. “The lyrics are about the cyclical nature of relationships. I was thinking about growing and feeling full of hope but then relapsing to negative thinking. But it’s okay when you understand that taking a step back isn’t failure, it’s just part of ultimately overcoming whatever it is that’s holding you back. I wanted to make something beautiful and happy after such a fucked-up year. I needed to create my own joy in a bubble cloud out in the backyard.”
Watch their video down below.