REVIEW: We Lost The Sea - A Single Flower

We Lost The Sea, the Australian post-rock comet that quickly took over the world in 2015 with its critically acclaimed album Departure Songs, is coming back with its fifth studio album, A Single Flower. Followed by a quick US tour and even an appearance at the ArcTanGent Festival in Bristol, UK for two days, the band’s latest release is up there as the best of their career, and it is certain the band members Mark Owen, Matt Harvey, Matthew Kelly, Kieran Elliott, Alasdair Belling and Carl Whitbread poured everything they could into their work.

A Single Flower consists of six tracks that, unsurprisingly for post-rock, mostly stretch to the longer end of listening. The post-rock elements are present throughout the whole record, with the most prominent sonic theme being the atmospheric nature of the sound. In the song 'A Dance With Death', the listeners can hear a whole story behind the song, without using a single word. The introduction, build-up, and encore, followed by an intense bridge, are all solid proof of the band’s proficiency in the genre and their ability to play around with sounds, resulting in a unique combination of variable soundscapes.

We Lost The Sea did not fall behind with guest appearances as well, as the rather short song 'The Gloaming' features Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s own Sophie Trudeau. Lending her unmistakable ways with violin, she managed to capture the raw emotions and feelings of the track with precision, and the listeners are sure to cry few tears while listening to this piece, that is very different from the others. The use of violin in post-rock is a clever way to capture the essence and atmosphere differently and showcases the potential of the genre, that comes with leaving the straightforward path and experimenting with instruments and techniques. We Lost The Sea was not afraid to include non-conforming elements in the feature song and it really paid off, as the song is one of the best on the album.

It is already impressive to compose a track that's thirteen minutes long, as 'Bloom (Murmurations at First Light)' is, but the band surpassed its own work and came up with 'Blood Will Have Blood', as the last song on the album, that is a mind-blowing 27 whole minutes in length. The track, generally slower in melody, has many different rhythms to it, gradually increasing and decreasing in intensity and tempo. The guitar techniques used throughout this song are beautiful and emotional and truly are standing out, when paired up with the drums. The only downside of the song is the monotonous nature of it, which is to be expected, but unfortunately takes slightly from the overall experience.

A Single Flower is a work of art that constantly develops in the listener’s ears as they go through the songs. The meticulously composed songs force the audience to think about their life and the way the world appears to them, which adds something indefinably potent to the listening experience. The downside of the record is the total length, given the lengths of the songs on their own, and the already mentioned monotonous atmosphere in the last song, as that track is very long. Nonetheless, the album is a perfect fit for anyone who enjoys the post-rock scene and the level of detail We Lost The Sea brings with their work.

Score: 7/10

A Single Flower was released on July 4th 2025.

Words: Katerina Stepanikova

Photos: We Lost The Sea