Soon to be "bigger than periods", FLO are skilfully bringing the 90s and early 00s pop-influenced R&B girl group sound back to Western music, and taking on the baton, as Erivo tells us, from the likes of Destiny’s Child, SWV and the Sugababes. But after winning the 2023 BRIT Rising Star Award and becoming the first girl group to earn a BBC Sound Of award, it’s clear that FLO are breaking new ground and are not just a pastiche of previous girlband greatness. There’s even a thread of camp self-awareness that runs throughout their music, which the Charlie’s Angels-esque pose on the album cover can attest to.
Following Erivo’s tantalising intro FLO launches into title track, 'AAA', where the trio’s impressive vocal talent comes to the forefront in rich brain-scratching harmonies with the help of MNEK’s magic touch. “Obviously there’s collaboration,” Douglas told the Guardian. “But he vocally produces and vocally arranges all of our stuff. Ad-libs, lyrics, production, all those harmonies, the whole thing.” 'AAA' also sets out the album’s main theme: an exploration of relationships with a ‘No Scrubs’ attitude that would make TLC proud - especially on 'Caught Up'.
From here the album moves with satisfying flow, from sexy slow jams ('Walk like This' and 'Bending my Rules') to ballads like 'Soft' and 'Trustworthy (Interlude)', to the punchy 'How Does It Feel?' and 'I’m Just a Girl', which delve into the struggles the band has already faced as young black women breaking into the music industry, singing “How many black girls do you see on centre stage now?”.
FLO’s brand of revivalist, flirtatious and feminine R&B with their gorgeous vocal synthesis and a sprinkle of Gen Z edge is a winning combination to set the mood for a girls’ night out. But for fans really looking to access all areas of the trio’s talent and hoping to see them push the boat out beyond the nostalgic-sounding singles they’d already released will only find more of the same in the rest of the album. FLO is only finding their feet, a little more musical risk-taking could send them to stardom.
