Twenty-year-old LA-based indie pop artist and musician Rocco released their first EP, “Her Favorite Flowers.” last September. This collection of songs encapsulates the feelings of love— both positive and negative. This list of lusty songs appeals to your deepest doubts and hopes in love; all the songs relate to love and the following emotions, digging deep and confronting reality in the waking moments before and after it. With their smooth and soothing rhythm, the lyrics find their way into the heart of any listener.
The first track, “Third Avenue,” begins with a twist on love at first sight. Describing what is experienced when your crush fails to see you as you see them. Channeling that feeling into the lyric, “There’s not much my heart can take” Starting off the song with longing, Rocco sings, “Cause I’m longing for the time our roads would intersect,” a call to the yearning for a love that will never be answered.
The next track, “Sunny,” opens the door to the phenomenon of wanting a love story but doubting the probability of a romantic connection; “that someone could find their way into my heart.” The soft song weaves in the sinking feeling of recovering from present and past disappointments, “Picking up my heart off the floor.”
Entering the third track, “Always Do” describes the persistence of longing when you’re not with your person— “The thing about love is that people don’t say// It’s all just a losing game.” However, the song also threads in the sliver of hope that comes with that persistent longing. “But the thing about us, it’s written in stone// I’ll find my way back to you.”
The fourth track, “In the Morning,” provokes the scene of a giddy mind in love. The song spills out into reminiscence of small peaceful times that meld into the all-consuming feeling of this person soaking up your attention, and your waking consciousness. “I hope you love me in the morning//Oh baby, I’m becoming such a fool for you” he sings, describing the lightweight feeling you get when you’re on the brink of falling in love.
The second to last song, “Hold Me, Never Let Me Go,” is an introduction to the experience of uncertain feelings. Verbalizing the feeling of toeing the line between being friends and possibly more. The song loops in question, tethering on both ends of how this relationship could continue, with an inevitable question still looming. “Is this how the story ends?”
Finally in the last track, “From Jupiter to Mars,” shaped by a soft guitar melds into the question ‘Is she the one?’ when questioning whether or not a current love will be the last “I think I found the one?” Ending this starry-eyed EP, Rocco pours out the last of his emotion, expressing the strength that a true connection brings, singing, “my heart goes out from Jupiter to Mars.”
Overall this EP leaves your heart on the table as you navigate various types of romantic situations. Whether that’s the verge of falling in love or the beginning of a heartbreak, leaving you in your memory.
