Samantha Whates & M. G. Boulte - Flower Days (2025) Hi-Res

Scottish folk singer and songwriter Samantha Whates and Essex-based guitarist and songwriter M G Boulter headed up to Fife in the depths of winter to record this their third collaborative project. A concise concept album dedicated to the language of flowers and their connection to humans, Flower Days is a spacious, delicate affair, immediately eschewing the bleakness of winter with horn intro Snowdrop more effectively evoking images of spring and rebirth.

This feeling of life and newness continues on the title track, built around a lightly picked acoustic guitar line and the clear vocals of our duo, led by Samantha in this case. A key character on this one is the double bass, with Douglas Whates’ loose but dextrous playing adding an almost mischievous quality to the piece and threatening to steal the show.

Further on, M G takes the lead on Lily-Rose, his pure voice a perfect fit for his bright story-telling. The accompaniments add a playfulness to this one too, with that wonderful bass running through the song and high strummed guitar underpinning it.

To me, at the heart of the album are the three Tulip miniatures, placed evenly throughout. Small and delicate in structure, these little treasures are in places strange, innocent and almost spooky. The first is backed by solo piano notes, played tentatively at first, with Samantha’s fragile vocal gently probing. II puts a ticking clock at the fore, with ghostly vocals away from the mic, before a cascading guitar line tempts them closer. III is instrumental and reminiscent of Three Cane Whale’s music at first, with a steadily picked guitar part joined by a sweet trumpet line. It’s a lovely piece and concludes a beautiful trio that perfectly illustrate the album’s concept and sense of place.

Final song, Daffodils, is the longest by far at over six minutes and uses interesting (slide guitar?) buzzes to haunt a very pretty and patiently delivered song that ends with a singalong backed by electric guitar, bass and field recordings. It’s a lot of fun and something of a celebration, which feels fitting when considering the obvious energy and care that has gone into this project as a whole.

Flower Days is a short and focused album, coming in at just twenty-two minutes and wasting no notes along the way. A deeply felt and humane work, full of quiet joy and love of life and nature, this fresh and evocative release is one to savour.