Flowchart

Flowchart entered the scene in 1995 via the album Multi-Personality Tabletop Vacation on Carrot Top, a release from the Philadelphia collective that drew equal measures of scorn and praise for its close resemblance to space pop stalwarts Stereolab and Neu!. While some charged the musicians with outright appropriation, others grudgingly acknowledged the precision and appeal of the recreation. Sean O’Neal, the project’s central figure, subsequently tempered and broadened those reference points following the debut, which helped temper the divided response to later efforts. The 1996 Tenjiru EP delved extensively into textures built from clicks and buzzes, whereas additional outings such as the notable Burnt Hair title Hallow Sky examined four-track drones. By the time of 1997’s Cumulus Mood Twang, longtime associate Brodie Budd had been replaced by Erin Anderson, allowing the group’s sonic range to incorporate nods to indie rock and articulate dance outfits in the vein of New Order. An excursion through the electronic curiosity Flowtron preceded the 1999 album Commercial, which included HollAnd as a collaborator, before the project shifted toward experimental techno on the 2000 Gee Bee EP and ultimately arrived at a convincing dance and house sound with May 2003’s Broken and Blue. During that same summer Fuzzy Box issued two volumes that gathered Flowchart’s earlier singles and compilation appearances, along with the disc Evergreen Noise Is Flexible/Spirit of Kenny G that paired the pair of mid-’90s EPs on a single CD.