Hothouse Flowers Bloom Again

HOTHOUSE FLOWERS

“Songs From the Rain”

London

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Inspiration and craft can both lead to memorable songs, and some bands are blessed with both strengths. But others, including Ireland’s Hothouse Flowers, are largely dependent on one--and when that strength is inspiration, you have to be prepared for creative ups and downs.

The Flowers arrived in 1988 with extraordinary promise, thanks to “Don’t Go,” a celebration of life based on music’s cleansing and inspirational qualities. Onstage, singer Liam O’Maonlai and company parlayed that creative spark into warm, uplifting performances that mixed Celtic soul and American blues-gospel fervor.

However, the spark was missing from most of 1989’s “Home,” and the songwriting craft wasn’t strong enough to compensate. But the inspiration is back--at least in this album’s key songs, including “This Is It (Your Soul)” and “Isn’t It Amazing.”

The Flowers’ lyrics can still seem forced (“Be Good”) and the music too studied (the lazy lagoon feel of “An Emotional Time”). But the best moments are disarming expressions of faith that are as mystical and spirit-lifting as the works of Van Morrison and the Waterboys. That alone is enough to make you prize a band that, in an age of rock cynicism and doubt, is unafraid to follow its heart.