FLO accelerate their status on Access All Areas

Drawing from the powerhouses of 90s and 2000s R&B, the London based trio comprises three exceptionally talented vocalists – Renee Downer, Jorja Douglas, and Stella Quaresma – who feel a “dedication to making girl group history.” And these ambitions aren’t far-fetched at all – the girls have received a great deal of accolades already, most notably winning the Brits Rising Star award in 2023, being the first band to ever do so.

Having introduced themselves via a promising batch of songs across EPs The Lead and 3 Of Us, showcasing a solid and sophisticated approach to their craft – meanwhile rubbing shoulders and joining artistic forces with a range of eminent musicians traversing the R&B spectrum – the sheer potential of FLO could be detected from a mile away. Now, it’s safe to confirm that trusting their potential was a wise decision.

Diving into Access All Areas, it becomes abundantly clear how FLO immediately pulled in their listeners, alluring a prolific, dedicated following from only a handful of songs. Employing the groups’ most praiseworthy qualities to expand them across a full-length project gives opportunity for a number of remarkable pop, soul, and R&B fusions to develop, of which at the centre resides memorable hooks and meticulously layered, silky-smooth vocal performances. Every so often, their procedure may come across as somewhat restrictive and repetitive for a sixteen-track album, nonetheless, it's an isolated reservation – and generally not an awful, career damaging one. FLO sticks firmly to their formula – though still an exemplary, impregnable formula they’ve perfected swiftly and with admirable ease.

Without excessive ambition, Access All Areas delivers heaps of confidence regardless. Chic charm and sentiments of self-possession come ingrained into these songs, which span instrumentally from enthralling syncopated beats, to leisurely, looped bossa nova resembling guitar riffs. Cynthia Erivo delivers a jazzy, spoken word opening, setting the scene before the track transitions at it’s halfway mark into a sultry introductory statement from the group. An undeniable apex is “Check”, an anthem for the girls to boast about their romantic partners – the parading of these blessings being an improvement from prior singles that have often scrutinised unmet relationship standards, such as on The Lead’s “Immature”: “Feels like I’ve been waiting a lifetime / For you to tell me what’s going on in your mind” – whereas presently, it’s “With the guys I dated, probably should be jaded / Feels like I’ve been waiting for him all my life” – a rightful upgrade. The jaunty, Miami bass backdrop acts as an apposite mirror to the girls’ celebratory attitude, the song maybe their most upbeat yet – and these are categorically the style of tracks allowing the group to gleam brighter and richer, the ones in which FLO strike us as being altogether in their element.

FLO’s grasp of their own excellence assists the assemblage of an album where protecting one’s pride and value is its bedrock. In the midst of such a notorious period of universal history and politics, it feels most necessary that art should fundamentally focus on upliftment. To hear three accomplished Black women affirming their autonomy, prioritising their joy, and possessing a dominant knowing of their sensuality, sets a nonchalant though vital reminder to put one’s assurance beyond all else, to drown out any voice that might heckle, to keep oneself intact and immaculate in the face of commotion. In short, there is something unequivocally reassuring in FLO’s reassurance.

Access All Areas is a place where retro influences merge with contemporary thematics, additionally bestriding the border between nostalgia-evoking sampling and entirely fresh production techniques. From top to bottom, this record exhibits toned melodies, striking harmonies, and impressive vocal chemistry (a description applicable to much of FLO’s discography at this point). It’s no less than a lavish feast for the ears. Yet, its most notable feature might be its celebratory attitude. Renee, Jorja, and Stella do not care to dance around the matter – they simply know exactly who they are, and what they want.