Floracene

“You've got to be one that, wherever you are, like a flower, you've got to blossom where you're planted. You cannot eliminate darkness. You cannot banish it by cursing darkness. The only way to get rid of darkness is light and to be the light yourself.” – Cory Booker.

Floracene wants to make its fans into those Flowers.

Floracene is a young band with young talent, and their alternative-pop sound is targeted directly at young listeners. Covering topics such as love, loss, self-doubt, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences, their songs evoke contradicting emotions within the listener, with happy melodies contrasted with deep lyrics. The three members met at different times, but all came together for this project that they feel is more than music: it’s a message.

The trio is comprised of Pat Johnson (born October 19th, 1998; vocalist), Tom Tarcelli (born January 9th, 1999; lead/rhythm guitar), and Pat McHugh (born February 18, 1999; lead/rhythm guitar). When they came together, they knew they wanted to make music, they just didn’t have a direction, but Johnson eventually realized that for the band to be big, the goals have to be big. Their mission is ultimately to spread positivity and relatability to their listeners.

Combining electrifying riffs with airy pads and chantable choruses, the band composes songs that are sure to ignite an audience into singing along even when they don’t know the words. Influenced by acts such as The 1975, Catfish and the Bottlemen, and Bad Suns, Floracene takes elements from these bands and more to make their own original sound, a stadium-ready sound.

The band itself may be new to the South Jersey scene, but its members are definitely not. Pat Johnson and Tom Tarcelli previously were in the band Native Riff. They performed at a variety of venues, including World Café Live, the Trocadero, and various festivals and art galleries. Most notably, they opened for Andy Grammer as a last act before Native Riff broke up. Meanwhile, Pat McHugh is a part of another local band, Cat in the Wall. With music being streamed in 20 countries over 2,000 times over the course of 2018, the band certainly has a large fanbase, with over 400 different listeners tuning in on Spotify alone. Cat in the Wall has also played shows in a variety of places and with different acts, some shows including Native Riff on the lineup.

Unlike most bands that play live shows before releasing any music officially, Floracene chose to take the exact opposite route and release music before doing any press or live shows. Relying solely on their social media presence and the loyalty of fans of the individuals’ prior works, the band released the song “Bruises” in January of 2019, a song which now has over two thousand plays on Spotify and more on other platforms. Live performances are certainly in the band’s future, but they’re choosing a more unconventional route in their release/performance schedule.

With their only officially released song being “Bruises,” Floracene may have yet to prove themselves to alternative music connoisseurs, but with their upcoming untitled single, audiences may not want to wait in line to get on board with this promising group.