The up-and-coming Denver band Dollpile, categorized within the “fuzz folk” genre, encapsulates the struggle of trying to communicate with someone who is unresponsive in their song “Fake Flowers.” This track serves as a cathartic release of weariness, reminiscence, and emotional disarray, offering a personal preview of their forthcoming album, ‘Someone Else’s Heaven.’
“Setting out fake flowers on the tabletop while you’re mouthing off…” Dollpile begins “Fake Flowers” with a quiet sting that gradually intensifies as the essence of the song envelops you. The duo, composed of Isadora Eden and Sumner Erhard, who recently rebranded to reflect their collaborative spirit, create a sound they endearingly term fuzz folk—a moody fusion of indie rock, shoegaze, and gothic folk. “Fake Flowers,” the lead single from their upcoming album, exemplifies Dollpile’s compelling nature: it is both weighty and gentle, intimate yet engulfing, raw yet comforting.
The song flows like a low cloud drifting over a dark field—dense, humming, and oddly reassuring. Its guitars resonate with a slowly building tension, the distortion encircling Eden’s vocals like a protective veil. Instead of overwhelming, the weight of the music absorbs and draws listeners in, making the experience feel like something to inhabit rather than merely listen to. Even within its heaviness, warmth emanates outward—a cathartic, tight-chested glow that momentarily stills the world.
Eden shares that the song stems from a particular emotional fracture. “Lyrically, it’s about feeling the necessity to explain yourself and your choices to those who you don’t feel are worthy of your time,” she explains. “Especially when you find yourself repeating the same things and revisiting painful memories, and the other person isn’t really listening.” This weariness is central to lines like “I told you what I wanted to say but I can say it again… I’d walk back through it all but I don’t want to do it again,” where the repetitive frustration of never being truly understood manifests as its own form of pain.
The title has real-life roots; Eden recalls fidgeting with small crochet flowers during one of those exhausting conversations. The term “fake flowers” felt remarkably appropriate—a metaphor for unacknowledged apologies and explanations, representing something genuinely offered but met with indifference.
Musically, “Fake Flowers” quickly took shape once Eden shared the demo with Erhard. “When I first heard the solo demo, I didn’t want to modify the rhythm guitar or structure,” Erhard remarks. Instead, he created a surrounding atmosphere—complementing it with a subtle lead line that began as a placeholder but ultimately felt vital. The resulting track feels lived-in from its inception, as if it had been waiting to be unearthed.
Dollpile’s musical essence is interwoven with emotions and memories—soundtracks for “walking home alone after a party, doom scrolling until dawn, and cruising through your deserted hometown pretending to call your high school best friend,” as they describe it.
This emotional terrain deepens with Dollpile’s recent releases, each evoking its own unique ache. The ethereal and shimmering “Stoplights” and the weighty, gut-wrenching title track “Someone Else’s Heaven” expand the album's palette in two compelling directions—one delicate and glimmering, the other heavy and visceral. Both songs draw listeners further into Dollpile’s shadowy, slow-burning realm, unveiling new layers of their evolving sound and sharpening the emotional edges of this chapter. “Stoplights” offers a gentle glow, anchored by evocative lyrics like “watching snow fall in the stoplights like it’s new,” while “Someone Else’s Heaven” acts as a bold confrontation, lingering in the chest long after the final note. Its haunting refrain is as much a revelation as it is a collapse: “I’m someone else in someone else’s heaven,” Eden sings with unsettling clarity, condensing the song's emotional fracture into one quietly devastating line. Together, these tracks hint at an album built on contrasts—radiance and grit, silence and rupture—showcasing a band that is fully embracing the world they are meticulously crafting, song by song.
As Dollpile continues to delve deeper into their artistry, their fuzz folk identity is becoming strikingly distinct—textured, unhurried, and unafraid to explore the more profound emotions. “Fake Flowers” encapsulates all the elements that render Dollpile a compelling force in the alternative scene—the weight, the warmth, the emotional clarity, and the way their songs resonate with both vulnerability and comfort. It’s a subtle eruption, one that immerses rather than inundates, allowing space for the feelings we often avoid and the realities we are weary of reiterating. As they move toward ‘Someone Else’s Heaven,’ this track stands as a standout—reflect
XL Recordings is celebrating the 10th anniversary of Archy Marshall's (also known as King Krule) 'A New Place 2 Drown' by releasing a newly remastered version.
Lizzie Weber and Markéta Irglová present a quiet, mesmerizing expression of devotion in "Maria" – a gently glowing prayer of liberation and rejuvenation that merges earthly visuals with spiritual yearning, crafting a realm where vulnerability transforms into a form of grace.
Bob Dylan has never attempted to meet the expectations placed upon him. The golden child of the Greenwich Village folk scene, his shift to electric rock ‘n’
Liam Gallagher has stated that Oasis will not be touring in 2026. Earlier this year, the band made a comeback, launching a record-setting reunion tour with an
The rising Denver "fuzz folk" group Dollpile captures the pain of trying to explain oneself to an unresponsive listener in "Fake Flowers." This track is a cathartic release of weariness, reminiscence, and emotional disarray, offering an intimate preview of the band's forthcoming album, 'Someone Else’s Heaven.'