By Jeffery McNulty
One night around 2003 I went to see a SunnO))) at El Corazon. Met up with my buddy Luke Laplante and we spent most of Graves at Sea’s set judging things like we do. Graves had been added last minute and even though they ruled I was worried I wouldn’t make it through the set of 5 bands. Then another band from out of town set up. There was a full stack and an Ampeg SVT refrigerator on both sides. My gearhound ears pricked up and I waited to see what these dudes were all about. First song I was hooked. I had just discovered possibly the most aptly named band of all time: Floor. Jaws dropped all around the room. It was like the first time I heard Nirvana’s Bleach: the perfect meld of heavy and poppy and this dude could SING! It was exactly what I wanted to hear and their show was amazing as well. Drummer Henry Wilson had this hilariously unorthodox way of playing his hi-hat cymbals with his foot, literally kicking off the breaks with his gangly showmanship. After their set I was the first one at the merch booth. I introduced myself to Steve Brooks and told him they were my new favorite band and bought a shirt and their self-titled first record. That thing was glued to my turntable for months. Like Luke said, “We came to see some doom bands and we ended up seeing Floor.” Legendary. They broke up soon after.
Fast forward a decade: Steve has released a few killer albums fronting his new band Torche and made quite a name for himself, guitar player Anthony Vialon played in Cavity and Henry formed Dove. Then, after a posthumous box set was released in 2010, they decided to get back together. Word had gotten around and I think their success inspired them. A few years later we have a new Floor album, Oblation. Something I never thought would happen. And this thing is impressive!
There is a little more of a contemplative mood on this record, perhaps due to Anthony’s theology studies, although their trademark romance is evident here as well. Songs like the album’s eponymous first track and the second, ‘Rocintate’ show off Steve’s amazing skill at singing doomy modern love songs. But Oblation isn’t front loaded; two later tracks, “Sign of Aeth’ and ‘Homegoings and Transit’ (the later sporting some sweet vocals from Henry’s partner Melissa Friedman) are so good I am almost surprised they are later in the lineup. But that’s what makes a Floor record such a grand undertaking. There are a lot of songs on here as well, which helps make this the slow burn kind of record, where you have to listen to it a few times to take it all in.
Recorded by Mark Nikolich, who did their self-titled record, and mixed by Kurt Ballou at God City Studios, you know high end sound quality is a given. Every bomb chord and lyric is loud and clear. I would love to hear this on vinyl, guess I’ll have to spring for the double gatefold… Epic, beautiful, crushingly heavy and ultimately listenable this sophomore record is like bumping into your favorite ex, one you haven’t seen for years, and deciding to give it another go. It might not be as good as you remember, but it’s made sweeter because you never thought it was going to happen again.
