How To Grow A Sunflower Underwater
General
| Oct 2022
Reviews
Francis D
Reviewed 2022-10-04
Reviewed 2022-10-04
“How To Grow A Sunflower Underwater” Alex The Astronaut
Indie folk pop. Sophomore release from phenomenally gifted Alexandra Lynn, a 27-year-old singer-songwriter from Sydney, who has also spent time in New York City and London. Their music is often sad and sometimes quirky, but always honest, real and personal. Catchy melodies with lots of layers and revealing, introspective lyrics sung in Lynn’s storytelling style.
— Francis
Highly recommended: 2, 3, 7, 1, 4, 9, 10. FCCs have been edited.
1. (4:50) Growing Up — Twee folk. Fades in to a simple, leisurely strummed guitar and spare vocals. Poignant song about growing up. Layers in chimey guitars, drums and violin flourishes. ***
2. (4:12) Haunted — Opens with a brief spoken sample. Then, transitions to rapid strumming and a skittering snare drum rhythm. Emotive vocals about dealing with bad times and continuing to move forward. ****
3. (4:20) Octopus — Upbeat, playful indie pop with Casio beats and a palm-muted guitar driving this skipping and fun track. Bubbling effects. Dealing with aspects of Lynn’s autism. ****
4. (4:17) Airport — Pensive, with reverbed guitar. Quavering, almost spoken vocals at times. Swelling cymbals. Sad reminiscences. Ends with 30 seconds of spoken session chatter. ***
5. (3:42) Sick (Radio Edit) — A very sad, spare ballad about the terminal illness of a friend. Fingerpicked guitar and raw vocals. Strings accompaniment.
6. (3:20) South London — Swings between personal storytelling over strummed guitar in the verses and full choruses. Mixes warm childhood nostalgia with early awareness of real-world dangers.
7. (3:44) Ride My Bike (Radio Edit) — Airy, pulsing synth pop. Starts more spare and builds into bigger anthemic moments. ****
8. (4:37) To Be Something Good (Radio Edit) — Interesting observations about modern life and Lynn’s time in therapy. Strummy at its foundation. Layers are added as the song progresses.
9. (3:02) Northern Lights — Bouncy, snappy indie pop over simple, backbeat drum machine rhythm. More lyrics about therapy. ***
10. (4:08) Haircut — Upbeat, soul-baring pop rock closer. Lynn confronts dealing with their sexual identity. Sees a simple haircut as a symbol of positivity in accepting their identity. A bit of chatter at the end. ***
Indie folk pop. Sophomore release from phenomenally gifted Alexandra Lynn, a 27-year-old singer-songwriter from Sydney, who has also spent time in New York City and London. Their music is often sad and sometimes quirky, but always honest, real and personal. Catchy melodies with lots of layers and revealing, introspective lyrics sung in Lynn’s storytelling style.
— Francis
Highly recommended: 2, 3, 7, 1, 4, 9, 10. FCCs have been edited.
1. (4:50) Growing Up — Twee folk. Fades in to a simple, leisurely strummed guitar and spare vocals. Poignant song about growing up. Layers in chimey guitars, drums and violin flourishes. ***
2. (4:12) Haunted — Opens with a brief spoken sample. Then, transitions to rapid strumming and a skittering snare drum rhythm. Emotive vocals about dealing with bad times and continuing to move forward. ****
3. (4:20) Octopus — Upbeat, playful indie pop with Casio beats and a palm-muted guitar driving this skipping and fun track. Bubbling effects. Dealing with aspects of Lynn’s autism. ****
4. (4:17) Airport — Pensive, with reverbed guitar. Quavering, almost spoken vocals at times. Swelling cymbals. Sad reminiscences. Ends with 30 seconds of spoken session chatter. ***
5. (3:42) Sick (Radio Edit) — A very sad, spare ballad about the terminal illness of a friend. Fingerpicked guitar and raw vocals. Strings accompaniment.
6. (3:20) South London — Swings between personal storytelling over strummed guitar in the verses and full choruses. Mixes warm childhood nostalgia with early awareness of real-world dangers.
7. (3:44) Ride My Bike (Radio Edit) — Airy, pulsing synth pop. Starts more spare and builds into bigger anthemic moments. ****
8. (4:37) To Be Something Good (Radio Edit) — Interesting observations about modern life and Lynn’s time in therapy. Strummy at its foundation. Layers are added as the song progresses.
9. (3:02) Northern Lights — Bouncy, snappy indie pop over simple, backbeat drum machine rhythm. More lyrics about therapy. ***
10. (4:08) Haircut — Upbeat, soul-baring pop rock closer. Lynn confronts dealing with their sexual identity. Sees a simple haircut as a symbol of positivity in accepting their identity. A bit of chatter at the end. ***
Recent airplay
Octopus
KZSU Time Traveler — Jan 13, 2023
Ride My Bike (Radio Edit)
KZSU Time Traveler — Jan 06, 2023
Northern Lights
KZSU Time Traveler — Jan 02, 2023
Growing Up
KZSU Time Traveler — Dec 30, 2022
Ride My Bike (Radio Edit)
KZSU Time Traveler — Dec 23, 2022
Airport
Hanging In The Boneyard — Dec 16, 2022
Charting
2022-10-12 — 2022-12-14
| Week Ending | Airplays |
|---|---|
| Dec 11 | 1 |
| Dec 4 | 3 |
| Nov 27 | 3 |
| Nov 20 | 3 |
| Nov 13 | 2 |
| Nov 6 | 4 |
| Oct 30 | 4 |
| Oct 23 | 1 |
Track listing
| 1. | Growing Up | ||
| 2. | Haunted | ||
| 3. | Octopus | ||
| 4. | Airport | ||
| 5. | Sick (Radio Edit) | ||
| 6. | South London | ||
| 7. | Ride My Bike (Radio Edit) | ||
| 8. | To Be Something Good (Radio Edit) | ||
| 9. | Northern Lights | ||
| 10. | Haircut |