By: Andrew Meeker
Original Release – Access All Areas
You may know British girl group FLO for changing their numbers & locks on their 2022 debut single “Cardboard Box,” but they are now handing us the keys to unlock their limitless talent on Access All Areas, their debut studio album that came out on November 15, 2024. Grammy nominee MNEK (Uzo Emenike), who also hails from the UK and worked on FLO’s 2022 EP “The Lead,” executive produced the album, and the project was released under Island Records. As group member Renée Downer said in an August interview with NME, the album’s name refers to FLO’s intention of being open and digging deep on the project.
FLO is a trio of Londoners – Renée, Stella Quaresma, and Jorja Douglas – who were brought together in 2019 by a male manager with whom they no longer work. Despite their arranged beginnings, the trio formed bonds throughout the pandemic and took a pragmatic approach to finding their sound and brand. After thorough deliberations about names, the three agreed that nothing fit better than FLO. Yes – they have received plenty of bewildered comments about sharing a name with a popular menstrual cycle tracking app, but they own it. Renée said “We’ve given it meaning – FLO – we’re in sync and there are three of us” (DAZED). The name is a cheeky comment on womanhood and a testament to their vocal talent – they make their flow sound effortless.
Access All Areas was originally supposed to be released in 2023 on the heels of their first headline tour “FLO Live,” but the girls felt that the project was not yet ready. Instead, they satiated fans with a four-track EP titled “3 of Us” in July 2023, taking their time to perfect their long play masterpiece before making it ours. The group has called Access All Areas “a labor of love,” making it apparent that they never want to release half-baked music. Seeing this album show up on my Spotify home screen in November felt like a breath of fresh air; in the States and Britain, we have been in a girl group drought ever since Little Mix went on an indefinite hiatus in 2022! It seems that after the 90s heyday of powerhouse R&B girl groups like SWV, TLC, The Spice Girls, and Destiny’s Child, the bluesy spark has died.
FLO is here to prove us wrong. This talented trio means business, which they make clear in the album’s first track “Intro,” which calls upon Wicked star Cynthia Erivo for exclusive emcee services. Jorja described getting the feature from Erivo as “simple,” despite her “being pulled in every direction possible” (Gay Times). In a sultry voice, Erivo introduces FLO as a trio that made a pact “to receive the baton passed on by” their iconic predecessors. Erivo’s “brief history lesson” is followed by a cascading vocal introduction by Renée, Stella, and Jorja that invites listeners to sit back, “let it breathe, let it FLO,” and enjoy the show.
They “don’t waste no time” to make a good first impression – the album’s theatrical first full-length (& namesake) track “AAA” (which stands for Access All Areas) features a live band that gathered in LA to capture the glamor of Motown’s Dreamgirls, a longtime favorite stage show of Stella’s (DAZED). In synchronized staccato synth hits and vocalizations during the pre-choruses, the record achieves a nostalgic feeling that is rendered current by the heavier synth drone that holds down the rest of the piece. A-plus certified groove aside, I thank this track for giving this American listener a connotation for “Triple A” far more pleasant than flat tires and fender benders.
Track three “In My Bag” keeps the hype up with an invigorating feature from GloRilla, who emphatically raps “Yeah, FLO; world screaming ‘Yeah, Glo!’” in her verse. Only Flo Milli could have executed this line better, but maybe I have to wait until the next album for that collaboration. The choruses, sung by Renée, are underlaid with some slightly-grating pitched-down vocals that nevertheless ground the track, and Renée hits some home-run riffs in the last chorus that carry the track all the way to home plate. The music video for “In My Bag,” which premiered on the album’s release day, savvily sprinkles in Access All Areas’s lock & key leitmotif and includes a riveting narrative that makes it well worth the watch!
As the tracks continue to roll by, the album only gets better. Transitions remain smooth, riffs and harmonies creative, and lyrics witty. And, the high-heel click-clack sound effect that opens “Walk Like This” is pure artistry. Aside from the catchy pre-album single “Check,” a song that has been gracing by earwaves since August, my favorites throughout the rest of the album are “On & On,” “IWH2BMX” (I Would Hate To Be My Ex), and “Shoulda Woulda Coulda.”
Bluesy outro chord progressions on tracks like “Soft” are chill-inducing and remind me why I love R&B music. In an interview this fall with NME, Stella and Jorja cited Aaliyah and Timbaland as major influences upon their work. Stella described Aaliyah as an “it girl” who “did so many things for people like us who love R&B”. Jorja’s caveat about Timbaland’s production being an inspiration for FLO rings true in Access All Area’s full basslines.
That being said, the final track “I’m Just A Girl,” fell flat for me. First, it is an uncharacteristic pop-rock record that jarringly departs from the album’s R&B wheelhouse. Jorja said that they wanted listeners to be left with a feeling of “What the fuck did I just listen to?” but I am unconvinced by the effectiveness of this choice (Gay Times). The track’s songwriting also underwhelmed me, especially when Renée sings in the first pre-chorus: “This song ain’t for everybody, this song ain’t ‘bout nobody/ Uh, well, maybe somebody.” In an album full of creative “Screw him!” witticisms, these clunky lines broke the fourth wall and took me out of a cohesive listening experience. Additionally, I was unimpressed by the excessive repetition of the song’s title with no additional lyrics in the chorus.
The verses, however, introduce copious amounts of new content like “How many Black girls do you see on center stage now?/ Yet you wonder why they’re going to the States now.” These lines open an imperative discourse about serious discriminatory issues in the British music scene, but far too late in the album. Appearing in the second verse of the final track, these lyrics made “I’m Just A Girl” feel like a disorganized paper conclusion. All of this being said, Access All Areas is FLO’s first shot at tackling the difficult task of telling a story in an album, which becomes all the more challenging when the project must reflect three peoples’ journeys instead of just one. Final tracks are notoriously hard to execute well – and FLO will have many more chances to get them right.
I was disappointed to discover that Access All Areas only received middling reviews that averaged to a 68/100 on Metacritic – I think that critics should have more faith in a group that is filling such an important space in the music industry. The Independent gave them a scathing two-star review in which FLO’s harmonies seemed to be the only quality that earned the girls any praise – the author thought them unable to deliver neither the necessary sultriness nor charisma through lyrics they describe as “dubious,” directly contradicting the praise I have just showered on the project. The critic also calls “Caught Up” a “pale imitation of Destiny’s Child’s ‘Say My Name,’” which seems like a harsh judgment seeing as the FLO track includes both a unique Spanish-influenced guitar line and a suspenseful bridge.
FLO’s sound is anything but dated. Access All Areas reached No. 3 on the UK Albums Chart, which is the highest charting project by a British girl group since Little Mix’s 2020 Confetti. This is a remarkable accomplishment, and it shows that FLO is on the right track to making their mark as the next high-achieving R&B girl group in the UK and the USA. And, on August 22nd on X, they said: “We’re not fully grown, but we’re no longer teens.” FLO is still just getting started, and they should not be expected to have their entire vision realized on their first album – that is not a fair standard.
I do think that FLO has the potential to make their message more clear, but being outspoken on an early project could have cost them a good relationship with their label. The girls have told NME that their management should be praised alongside them for the “greatness [coming] from three young Black women,” but it remains likely that FLO’s lyrical subject matter remains restrained by contracts. I disagree with any comments about their songs being lyrically uninteresting; they have plenty to share with the world about Black excellence and female empowerment. As Renée said, “We were all predominantly raised by single mothers,” which caused her, Stella, and Jorja to firmly believe the assertion “Yes, I love you, but if you leave me tomorrow, I’m gonna find a way to pick myself up.” FLO’s messages of strength and vulnerability will continue to coarse through their music as they hone their craft in years to come, and I hope that I get to witness them recording & releasing a chart-topping smash hit sooner rather than later.
Deluxe Release – Access All Areas: Unlocked
The original release of Access All Areas is accompanied by a deluxe version that takes a page out of Taylor Swift’s book by labeling the additional tracks “[Unlocked]” as Swift does for her “[From the Vault]” re-records. Included behind FLO’s unlocked doors are four remixes featuring other R&B and hip-hop artists, as well as a live performance of “Breaking My Rules.” All of these versions elevated the original tracks for me. The “IWH2BMX” remix, which features Kehlani, is my favorite across all areas of this project’s purview. In the original track, Renée’s enunciated, rap-adjacent flow in the pre-chorus reminded me of Kehlani’s diction (I have always loved her crystal-clear vocals!), and the track’s overall dark, bass-heavy production seemed like it would fit on one of Kehlani’s sonically bolder projects like SweetSexySavage or CRASH.
FLO calls in siren sisters Chlöe & Halle Bailey for the “Soft” remix, reuniting the duo Chloe x Halle for a mature, sensual track that shows how much they have changed since they sang together in their adolescence. Previously not a personal standout, “Soft” was enhanced by the sisters’ verse because the original version, at 2 minutes and 10 seconds, feels only like a caveat within the standard release.
Finally, I was very impressed with the two renditions of “Break My Rules” that appear in Access All Areas: Unlocked. DIXSON’s voice on the remix is smooth like butter, and his baritone beautifully fills a vocal range unheard of in FLO’s standard tracks. The Vevo Live version of “Breaking My Rules” is a testament to FLO’s astounding on-stage vocal capabilities, and is accompanied by a gorgeous ensemble of strings and horns that bring the song to an even more soulful place.
Needless to say, I’ll need to witness FLO’s live magic when they visit NYC during their Spring 2025 North American Tour; their live performances are even better than their studio recordings. You all will be hearing more from me then, but in the meantime, I encourage you all to tap into this FLO and support the next best up-and-coming girl group.
4/5
