Cornwall’s rising collective Flo Crowe & The Dilemmas have stepped into the spotlight with their debut double A-side single, and let’s just say, it doesn’t tiptoe. With a heady blend of close-knit vocal layering, lush electronic undercurrents, and raw, youthful urgency, ‘That Was That / The Crowd’ feels like the beginning of something electric.
Led by the magnetic presence of Flo Crowe on vocals and keys, the group- rounded out by Cerys Wilcox, Paige Mullin, Grace C.G., and Moses Seaber- deliver a sound that is strikingly modern and yet the harmonising vocals make it gorgeously nostalgic. It’s folktronica with teeth; atmospheric, thoughtful, and rhythmically insistent.
‘That Was That’ is the emotional anchor here, a meditation on emotional aftermath, framed by pulsing beats and spacious, vocal-rich arrangements. There’s a refreshing sense of restraint in the production, allowing the harmonies to sit front and centre, threading together grief, closure, and resilience in a way that avoids melodrama. It’s contemplative, but far from passive.
Flip the coin and you land on ‘The Crowd’, a bolder, more confrontational track that pulses with collective energy. This is the song that feels designed for late nights under festival lights, where the beat shakes your chest and the lyrics find your gut. There’s a tension between defiance and celebration that’s infectious and emotionally rich.
With an average age of just 19, the band are already speaking with a kind of clarity artists twice their age are still chasing. Their lyrics wrestle with the pressures of a generation growing up in global chaos, but instead of wallowing in despair, Flo Crowe & The Dilemmas are choosing to gather, create, and shine a little light. There’s protest here, sure, but it’s dressed in glitter and harmonies.
With an album on the way, this is just the first spark and with ‘That Was That / The Crowd’ you’ll want to be under that umbrella when the storm hits.
