Black Bouquet – “Run and Hide” [Song Review]

Raleigh, North Carolina-based Gothic rock/emo outfit Black Bouquet recently released their single/music video, “Run and Hide,” a track lifted from their forthcoming debut album, Pray to the Knife, set to drop on February 16, 2024.

A concept album, Pray to the Knife narrates the story of survival after grief told through the eyes and in the words of troubled lovers.

A six-piece band whose sound incorporates a number of genres, Black Bouquet’s sound harks back to My Chemical Romance or Killers-era emo with healthy amounts of ’80s guitar rock, new wave, and Goth/post-punk.

Made up of Violet O (vocals), Ian Jones (bass), Hunter Corrin (guitar), Michael Rumple (drums, backing vocals), Laura Mooney (viola, backing vocals), and Dan Irving (synths, backing vocals), Black Bouquet formed in 2017, followed by releasing a series of singles, including 2020’s “Just Kids” and in the same year, their debut EP, Haunt Me Once More.

“Run and Hide” opens on deep, rumbling percussion followed by Duran Duran-like guitars merging into a dramatic baroque-flavored art rock melody, vaguely reminiscent of early The Cure, only darker and drenched in profound angst. Violet O’s vocals imbue the lyrics with passionate urgency, at once supplicating and surrendering.

Privileged to listen to the entire album, which is emotive, evocative, and lush, it’s easy to see why Pray to the Knife took three years to complete. It’s a grand album.

Black Bouquet, photo courtesy of Black Bouquet

Run Time: 3:58
Release Date: November 28, 2023
Record Label: Independent