Underground Radar: Flwers Are Proof That Timing, Friendship, and a Little TikTok Magic Can Change Everything
- SoundCheck Team
- Apr 10
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 11
Article Contributed by Rebecca McDevitt & Ilana Bornstein
Some bands come together through industry connections. Others start because a group of friends simply never stopped playing music together.
For Chicago-based alternative pop band Flwers, it’s the second story.
SoundCheck first discovered Flwers the same way a lot of fans did lately… scrolling through TikTok. Between honest lyrics, hook-heavy melodies, and videos that felt more like friends sharing music than a carefully planned marketing strategy, the band immediately stood out.
When we sat down with the group for our latest Underground Radar session, it became clear that their story goes a lot deeper than a few viral clips. It’s really about friendship, persistence, and finding your way back to the music you were always meant to make.
A Band That Basically Grew Up Together
Flwers might feel like a new discovery to a lot of listeners, but the band itself has actually been building for years.
Some of the members have been playing together since middle school.
“We’ve basically been a band for twelve years,” Collin shared.
That kind of history changes the dynamic. Instead of trying to figure out how to work together, the band already has that foundation built in. The chemistry comes naturally because the relationships were there long before the songs.
After college, the group took a big swing and moved to Los Angeles to chase the dream more seriously. Like a lot of musicians trying to break into the industry, things didn’t go exactly as planned. At one point they even ended up recording an EP in Indiana before eventually heading back home to Chicago during the pandemic.
But instead of the story ending there, something interesting happened. They regrouped. The original members reunited, and they started making music again.
Sometimes the long road actually brings you back to where the real momentum starts.
When TikTok Suddenly Finds Your Music
For Flwers, that momentum arrived in a way a lot of artists can relate to right now.
TikTok.
Their songs “Bittersweet” and “Aftertaste” began circulating on the platform, introducing the band to thousands of new listeners.
At one point, their monthly listener count jumped from around 15 to more than 1,000 practically overnight. A few more viral moments later, they were sitting around 10,000 monthly listeners, a number they’ve continued to maintain.
The funny thing is, the band’s strategy isn’t some highly calculated social media playbook.
It’s actually the opposite. Jack, who handles most of the band’s social content, said their best-performing posts tend to be the simplest ones. Authentic clips. Low effort. Just sharing the music. Which, ironically, is exactly the kind of content audiences respond to most.
Of course, like most artists navigating social media, they admit it can sometimes feel like an entirely separate job on top of making music. But when the right video hits, the results can be massive.
Writing Songs That Feel Like Moments
When it comes to songwriting, Jack usually starts with a vibe before anything else.
Sometimes it’s a chord progression. Sometimes it’s just a feeling. From there, lyrics and themes start to develop naturally.
That approach actually led to one of their newest songs, “Aftertaste,” coming together in a single day. After returning from a trip, Jack sat down to write and ended up replacing another track that had originally been planned for the project.
The result ended up becoming one of the songs gaining traction online. Interestingly enough, fans started noticing how “Bittersweet” and “Aftertaste” feel connected.
That wasn’t necessarily intentional, but Jack admitted he tends to include lyrical callbacks between songs without even realizing it.
Which is probably why the titles ended up complementing each other so well.
The Visual Side of the Music
Like many independent bands, Flwers handles most of their creative direction themselves.
Album artwork is often a collaborative process between the members. In the early days, they were focused on finding the “perfect” film photograph to match each release. Now the approach is a little more relaxed.
Instead of chasing perfection, they listen to the songs and ask a simpler question:
"What colors does this music feel like?"
Ideas usually bounce around in group texts until something clicks. Sometimes the result is minimal, sometimes more stylized, but the goal is always the same. The visuals should match the mood of the music.
And honestly, sometimes the simplest artwork resonates the most.
Taking the Music on the Road
Right now, Flwers just wrapped up something that felt like a major milestone. Their first multi-day tour run. The band headed out on a nine-show Midwest tour with Lake Drive, that kicked things off in Milwaukee and hit multiple cities across the region.
For a band that has spent years playing shows here and there, the idea of performing night after night was both exciting and a little surreal. Touring is where a lot of artists say the music truly comes alive. Songs that start in bedrooms or rehearsal spaces suddenly become shared experiences between the band and a room full of people.
And for Flwers, that was the moment they were most excited for. Turning listeners into real-life fans.
The Music That Inspires Them
Like most bands, Flwers pulls inspiration from a wide range of artists.
Jack and Austin both mentioned being huge fans of The 1975, while Collin gravitates toward more folk-driven artists like The Lumineers and Zac Brown Band.
It’s an interesting mix of indie pop, alternative, and storytelling-driven songwriting that ultimately shapes their sound.
During the conversation, the band also started throwing around dream tour lineups.
Some of the names that came up?
The Maine.
The Band Camino.
Marianas Trench.
The Strike
And honestly, those lineups make a lot of sense when you hear Flwers’ music.
What Happens Next
Flwers feels like a band right on the edge of something.
They’ve spent years building their sound, navigating the ups and downs of trying to make it in the music world, and finding their way back to the project that started it all.
Now they’re seeing new listeners discover their music every day.
And with a tour that just wrapped up, those listeners might soon become crowds.
If their story proves anything, it’s that sometimes the biggest momentum comes after the longest journey.
And for Flwers, the next chapter is just getting started.
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