Sympathy Flowers

Sympathy Flowers Dreams of Lurking Fear LP

Dreams of Lurking Fear is the first full-length by Oakland, CA dark punk band SYMPATHY FLOWERS. However, Dreams of Lurking Fear is an expansion of last year’s Through the Veil cassette (which was SYMPATHY FLOWERS inaugural release), with most of the cassette tracks being reworked with a better density and richness for the LP. There’s something in SYMPATHY FLOWERS’ sound that reminds me of the below-the-radar punk that cemented my relationship to our illustrious genre in my teen years. Maybe it’s the driving rhythms blended with the quick shift guitar riffs, or maybe it’s the poetic-but-direct lyrics that are defiant while deviant. Whatever it is, Dreams of Lurking Fear scratches an itch I didn’t even know I had.

• Reviewer Seth McBurney
• Label Cellofame
• Issue MRR #511 • December 2025

Sympathy Flowers Sympathy Flowers cassette

SYMPATHY FLOWERS are from Oakland, California, and they bring us some dark post-punk. Like all of my favorite post-punk, this band always has a driving bass line. To me, it sounds like they are influenced by bands like KILLING JOKE, RUDIMENTARY PENI, the AU PAIRS, and early JOY DIVISION. In the end, they manage to take their influences and make their own sound. Dark, hard-driving post-punk with vocals that provide an on-the-edge tension to the music. The drumming is perfect for this music, whether it is a rock-steady beat or playing sparsely and filling the in-between spaces while the guitar gives us some tension. This is a very good release, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes dark-sounding music.

• Reviewer Bill Chamberlain
• Label Harshara
• Issue MRR #505 • June 2025