If I had heard this record a bit earlier it might have been my favourite (mini)album of 2024. F.G.S. is Los Angeles-based Flannery Silva (possibly making the name her initials) with production help from Chase Ceglie. You might now Silva from the duo Odwalla88 (later Odwalla1221), which she started together with Chloé Elizabeth Maratta in Baltimore. I remember seeing their record in the long-gone Ooga Booga store in Los Angeles and being instantly drawn into their visual universe.
For the release of Tinker Bell’s Cough, Silva has once again used her world building skills to craft a universe around the “passions of a country girl, in the valley of humiliation”. That’s a line from the opening song “Passions”, which is one of the five singles with accompanying music videos created for the project. This was released two years ago now, so you can see how it’s been a long road leading up the release half a year ago.
The last single to see the light of day was “Beth’s Death”, which also counts as one of my favourite songs of the decade. Check out the video below, and what’s even more impressive is the website full of incredible merch created for F.G.S.
The 8-track record came out on her own label Hard Candy Xmas in October, and that name is of course a reference to Dolly Parton. The fact is, F.G.S. went on to release a cover of “Hard Candy Christmas” exclusively for Nina Protocol last Christmas. Both this and the album are a mutated form of americana leaning towards post-club pop. If you are into artists like Quiet Light this will definitely become a new obsession.
