FLO’s The Lead is a testament to the trio’s chemistry as friends and musicians and to their love of R&B.
On the 24th of March 2022, FLO released their now infamous debut single, ‘Cardboard Box’, which instantly gripped young audiences. The songs homages to late–nineties and early-noughties R&B with their sound and essence of Y2K fashion in the music video. Unsurprisingly, they have already managed to solidify themselves as crucial figures in modern music.
Renée Downer, 20, Stella Quaresma and Jordan Douglas, both 21, make up the girl group FLO. The minute they stepped on the scene, they reminded us that R&B groups are not a thing of the past; it is clear that they have no intentions of slowing down.
FLO’s popularity is by no means a comeback of girl groups, shown by the reign of Fifth Harmony and Little Mix and the momentum of K-POP groups such as BLACKPINK, New Jeans, Twice and Red Velvet. However, FLO has created their own identity in R&B, with influences from artists like Destiny’s Child, Faith Evans, and Aaliyah, which makes them stand out from current girl groups. Their influences are nostalgic, but they make their throwback sound feel fresh.
FLO released their E.P. ‘The Lead’ on the 8th of July, 2022. Debut single ‘Cardboard Box’ opens the E.P. It makes sense as to why, as the track encompasses all the layers of their sound. The trio is tired of their partner’s unfaithfulness and ready to end their relationship. Thematically the song is similar to Beyoncé’s hit single ‘Irreplaceable’.
‘Immature’, the second song on the E.P., has a similar narrative to ‘Cardboard Box’. Essentially the girls are done with the lack of communication and immature boys. The production of this track may give some a wave of nostalgia as the snippets of a crying baby sprinkled throughout reference the output of Aaliyah’s ‘Are You That Somebody’.
Next is ‘Summertime’, a certified girl anthem with a preppy upbeat melody likely to make the listener reminiscent of past summer nights. This track perfectly blends R&B and Pop elements produced by their predecessors, Maya, Brandy, and TLC.
‘Feature Me’ could be mistaken for a track unreleased by R&B greats Darkchild or Timbaland. In this track, we see a more seductive and sultry side to the group supplied with more forward lyrics: “The way he looks at me, I don’t feel like a girl no more.” The song ends with a climax of Mariah-inspired whistle notes.
The closer to the E.P. shifts the tone by slowing it down with an acoustic version of their song ‘Another Guy’. The track allows them to showcase their chemistry with melodic vocals and great harmonies, and here we can see their skill as vocalists.
FLO already looks and acts the part, but along with their debut E.P. it is clear that they are more than capable of being the new faces of contemporary R&B.