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Blue Bell and Dead Flowers Bloom Again

© Anne-Marie de Bruin

The most striking thing you notice about Bryan Bell, the young frontman for Dead Flowers, seems to be his blue eyes. And it these eyes that light up when you get him talking about the guitar-pop direction his band is taking, with their third album, the self titled Dead Flowers.

He reckons they were pop all along- it just took a bit of time to work out. "People probably perceived us as more of a sort of hard rock band, which was not something I really wanted to do so much as guitar pop."

Hard rock or otherwise, the band have always been praised for their songs and this is something that has carried through from their first albums, Skin of a Stone and Sweetfish.

Since that last album, however, the band have lost two original members, guitarist Riqi Hadfield and bassist David James. Their departures have had an impact on the way Bell crafts his songs. "Because one of the major songwriters had left I just sort of felt more responsibility to write a wicked album and it was something that I tried to concentrate on."

The band is now a four-piece, with bassist, Darryn Harkness, joining Bell and fellow founding musicians Rob Dollars (drums) and Damon Newton (guitar.)

After the line-up changes, a revitalised Dead Flowers headed to Sydney to test themselves out at Darling Harbour Studios, under the direction of producer Robbie Rowlands.

While the atmosphere for these sessions may have been more harmonious than previous albums, the delay the band experienced was frustrating. "It was hard because we initially recorded at the end of '96 in Sydney and we mixed the first single which was You Drink the water, I'll Drink the Wine. But then it wasn't till August '97 that we finished the mixes."

Back in Auckland at Revolver Studios, Bell would also find that an important factor in helping the band achieve their new sound would be a man with impeccable pop credentials - Eddie Rayner, formerly of Split Enz and Crowded House.

You often read horror stories of bands and producers in the studio as egos clash over the inability to get 'that perfect sound.' This was never going to happen with Rayner, whose straightforward studio manner cut to the chase with Bell and the band. "He was cool. I liked him because he was really frank- if he thought something sucked he'd tell you."

Although Rayner contributed a few keyboard tracks to the album, the majority of the work was done by Bell - a competent, albeit initially reluctant pianist. "I probably enjoy playing the guitar more than the keys, it was something that my parents made me do when I was 8 years old. It was something that I regretted at the time but I'm thankful for now, whereas guitar was something I wanted to learn."