Constant Smiles – Time Measured in Moonflowers
After sixteen years of restless evolution, Constant Smiles has finally bloomed into something startling. Ben Jones started this project in 2009 on Martha’s Vineyard, cycling through lineups and sounds like a band possessed by perpetual motion. Noise experiments gave way to chamber pop, which dissolved into coldwave synths, each phase documented on ultra-limited releases named after film directors.
The fundamental transformation arrived when drummer Nora Knight joined Jones and bassist Spike Currier in late 2022. This stable core brought focus to what had been a beautiful mess. Where earlier versions felt like catching smoke, ‘Moonflowers’ crystallises into something you can hold. The title track featuring Cassandra Jenkins demonstrates this newfound clarity—ethereal guitar lines and atmospheric essence that somehow carries the weight of mountains.
The production by Philip Weinrobe captures something rare: music that breathes without gasping for air. These songs exist in the space before conscious thought kicks in, where emotion lives unfiltered. From the flutter of ‘Allowed to Be’ to the spring morning folk of ‘Harriman’, each track flows into the next like water finding its level.
‘Moonflowers’ arrives November 7th as both climax and opening. After years of searching, Constant Smiles has discovered what they were looking for: the art of standing still while everything moves around you.
Tracklist:
- Introduction (Song for Geoff)
- Leave It At Why
- Allowed To Be
- Everything Is Personal
- Harriman
- In Place of Time
- When You’re Gone
- Run Out On Life
- I Know Your Name
- Time Measured In Moonflowers (feat. Cassandra Jenkins)
