Celebrated Summer was still in the back of a comic shop in Towson the week that "4" came out. I walked in as Chris was walking out, having just dropped off a stack of this new 12". I knew Sharkey had moved to Australia after Clockcleaner was done to...make glass? I can't remember. But I DO remember the needle dropping and getting knocked out by the opening of "Not My Idea". I turned to Tony and said, "This is the soundtrack to someone very lovingly getting fisted."
Bear in mind, I wasn't being crass. That's what this still sounds like to me, ten years after the first listen. I can now make a more genteel comparison; I hear the influences of "Second Empire Justice" and Dead Can Dance. Ultimately, though, these four songs still sound very cinematic. In an alternate world, these are the BDSM counterparts to Patrick Cowley's Fox Studio soundtracks. I'm thankful for that, since this is one of those records that pushed me to listen to something different, something I would have been prejudiced against.
There would be a 7" and an LP, by which time Sharkey had moved onto Dark Blue. I'm of a mind to say Puerto Rico Flowers was under appreciated, unheard compared to its craft. PRF would end up playing less than ten shows, of which I attended three. I sang along and sobbed during each of them.
We never did get that discography cassette.
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