FLOWERS for VASES / descansos

FLOWERS for VASES / descansos was written and recorded entirely by Hayley Williams at her home in Nashville during the COVID-19 lockdowns. In a significant departure from her collaborative history, Williams played every instrument on the record herself, resulting in a raw, skeletal sound that bridges indie folk and slowcore. The album serves as a companion piece to Petals for Armor but strips away that record's electronic flourishes in favor of analog warmth and domestic field recordings. The title references 'descansos,' the roadside crosses that mark where a life ended, symbolizing the various 'deaths' within her personal history and relationships. Critics noted the album's stark honesty and its successful pivot into a more mature, singer-songwriter territory, often drawing comparisons to the intimate work of Elliott Smith or Adrianne Lenker. It stands as her most insular and technically self-reliant work to date.