Pure Orchids — founding members Bruce Macchione (guitar) and Ian Yori (bass), along with Bella Ashton (vocals) — is an indie rock studio project that can trace some of their origins back to when Macchione and Yori met playing together in a New Jersey-based hardcore band in which they realized they had an instant creative chemistry. Some time later, the pair joined forces in the studio, working on a couple of jams that had a raw and retro feel to them.
Macchione met Ashton at a watercolor painting class at their university, and they quickly bonded over their shared passion for creativity. Macchione gave Ashton the opportunity to sing for the band based off a demo track that he and Yori had been working on. That track would eventually become their first official single, “Flood Gates,” which Ashton’s gorgeous and expressive vocals, angular and shimmering guitars paired with a supple bass line, a simple yet propulsive backbeat and an anthemic hook and chorus.
Sonically, “Flood Gates” is a seamless synthesis of 90s/120 Minutes-era alt rock, post punk and goth that’s nostalgic — but while anchored in a lived-in earnestness.
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