Melancholic Indie Songwriter Flower Face Shares Delicate New Single “Back To You”

“With haunting harmonies and lyrics that drip with a range of anger, forgiveness, fondness, and sadness, the structure of the song takes you through the journey of trying to get over someone, an experience that is both universal and isolating at the same time.” –FLAUNT

Today, melancholic indie songwriter and multi-hyphenate artist Flower Face, shares a dark and delicate new single “Back To You.” The moody ballad highlights mournful melodies, ascending acoustics, and haunting harmonies, enveloped in somber orchestral flourishes.

“It’s about being unable to get over someone – something so frustratingly typical and universal that somehow manages to feel like a singular experience, like this longing and sadness is something that you yourself invented,” explains Ruby McKinnon. “Especially when it comes to your first love, someone who was with you at a pivotal time in your life. It’s hard to imagine the ache will ever subside.” The track is out now via digital retailers (here).

“Back To You” follows previous single “Cornflower Blue,” a starry-eyed, shimmering dance of love and loss. Alt-Press called the track “breathtaking” and praised the “rising crescendos that show both [McKinnon’s] use of artistic restraint and her ability to create cinematic climaxes…”  Under the Radar likened the sound to that of contemporaries like “Weyes Blood, Lucy Dacus, or Bright Eyes.”

WATCH “BACK TO YOU” OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO:

Ruby McKinnon creates melancholic folk music with a bedroom pop heart under the moniker Flower Face. Taking inspiration from her own vertiginous life experiences, alongside such varied sources as Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events, Jesus Christ Superstar, the oeuvre of Mads Mikkelsen and her dog Ziggy, Flower Face’s musical testimonials recall the jagged emotion of Bright Eyes while conjuring the ethereal ecstasy of a fresh wound.

Classically trained in piano since the age of 5, McKinnon began writing her own music at 14. Encouraged by her music-obsessed parents, she formed Flower Face in true D.I.Y. style: recording her independent debut, Fever Dreams, almost exclusively on her dad’s GarageBand app. Teeming with acoustic heartbreak hymns, it didn’t take long for the album to find space on bedroom playlists alongside The National, Daughter, Big Thief, and Mazzy Star.

In 2018, McKinnon expanded her sound, hooking up with producer and long-time family friend Joshua Kaiser for her breakthrough sophomore release, Baby Teeth. Featuring an increasingly evocative sonic palette and deeper thematic constructs, the album dealt with, among other things, McKinnon’s own battle with stage three ovarian cancer at the age of 17.

Thinking back on her diagnosis, McKinnon says it was her “close brush with the grim reaper” that ultimately made her realize she needed to pursue a career in music.

“It felt like everyone knew me before I had a chance to introduce myself. I was the ‘cancer kid’ at school, and these intimate details of my life became the basis for staff meetings and class discussions and fundraising campaigns. I was so out of it at the time that I didn’t realize how that aspect of it might affect me. But once I left high school and started meeting new people, it became clear how much that experience had damaged my sense of privacy and dignity. It felt important, even urgent, that I tell my own story,” She recalls. “As my reach has grown, sharing my story on my own terms has become such a powerful thing. And it has inspired others to share their stories with me in return.”

“In a way, I’m lucky that I was given this newfound sense of purpose and belief in my ability to build a life that I’d love,” she adds. “I don’t want that part of my life to define me, and I don’t want to be the poster child for anything, but it undoubtedly propelled me forward and gave me such depth of experience to draw from when I write.”

It was this “sense of purpose” that drove McKinnon to pursue music even more seriously, even using her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree to use, designing all the album artwork and conceptualizing her music videos. Her DIY spirit resonated with fans online, as she built a loyal following excited to follow her on the journey.

Stay tuned for more news from Flower Face.

MEDIA PRAISE FOR FLOWER FACE…

“…heartbreakingly relatable and nostalgic at every turn…” – Alt-Press

“…crystalline indie folk creations, reminiscent of the emotional vulnerability found in Weyes Blood, Lucy Dacus, and Bright Eyes.” –Under The Radar

“…a gloriously fluid confection, comprising 60s pop (think the deathpop of Twinkle or The Shangri-Las), folk, country and a sprinkling of electro to create three minutes of sublime, slightly unnerving, dreamy indie in a style that fans of The National, Daughter, and Mazzy Star will lap up…” –Rolling Stone Australia

“Flower Face creates music for those who know the single to be true—introverts, wallflowers, and hopeless romantics. People who spend enough time lost in their own minds to understand that melancholy is often mistaken for agony and heartache.” –Unpublished Magazine

“…a grandiose shimmering rock-ballad with a dreamy Beach House element to it.” –We All Want Someone to Shout For