In early June, New York indie-folk project Florist posted a Facebook update about its in-the-works debut album. A small picture offered a title and a status update — “the birds outside mastered,” with a caption reading, “our album is done. stay tuned.”
The full-length was delayed, though, and five months later it still hasn’t seen release. But the artist behind the project, 21-year-old Emily Sprague, kept writing and recording songs, five of which have seen the light of day on a new EP, “Holdly,” released Oct. 30.
Florist is touring now in support of “Holdly,” with a show scheduled for 8 p.m. Sunday at the Bishop. Tickets for the 18-plus show are available at thebishopbar.com for $8.
That full-length Florist album is “coming out soon,” Sprague said in an email. In the meantime, “Holdly” gave her a chance to work with lighter material.
“It was a lot of fun for me to have something with less weight,” she said. “The full length is really heavy I think. It’s definitely different than ‘Holdly.’”
“Holdly” is Florist’s fourth release in over two years, following a single and a pair of other EPs.
It’s the project’s first release via indie rock label Double Double Whammy. While nobody involved in Florist has any interest in making music for the attention, Double Double Whammy did give them a platform to reach more people, Sprague said.
Lyrically, “Holdly” balances life’s positive and negative elements, she said. On album opener “Vacation,” she sings, “If I’ve been in love before, and I’m pretty sure I have, I’m pretty sure that my house can burn down, down to the ground tomorrow.”
On “Cool and Refreshing,” she puts it more simply: “It’s terrifying, it’s totally fine.”
“A lot of the lyrics on ‘Holdly’ are about being at peace with and embracing the things that are inherently and inevitably upsetting,” she said. “I like to be aware of those things, and I think it’s important to not glorify them, but to acknowledge them alongside the things that make you most happy or calm.”
Sprague said the EP’s title comes from a similar place. She noticed how often the words “hold” and “holy” appeared in her lyrics, she said, and created a portmanteau of the two, which also lends itself to one of the song titles.
Both those words have constantly changing meanings in her lyrics, she said, and she wants to leave some interpretation up to the listener.
“For me, though, things that are holy and things that you hold/hold you have so much in common,” she said. “One can give the other meaning, and they both can take meaning away, leave you blinded, or give you hope.”
Sprague also makes visual art, including artwork for Florist releases. And though she doesn’t share it as often as she shares her songs she decided to put together a book of her art, which fans can buy at shows on this tour, she said.
Florist’s spot in the indie music world also has a community element. Sprague is part of the Epoch, a Brooklyn-based artist collective that also includes rising indie projects like Eskimeaux, Told Slant and Bellows. The artists behind the projects often play in each other’s bands, and Sprague said that community has been important to her.
“I remember seeing Bellows play for the first time, and I just lost it because I had no idea people like that existed, playing music like that,” she said. “Everyone in all of those bands are now my closest friends. I live in New York City because of them. We help each other out; it’s really important.”
