NEPA Scene Staff

Indie pop duo Flora Cash plays at Stage West in Scranton on March 8 before St. Patrick’s Parade appearance

Indie pop duo Flora Cash plays at Stage West in Scranton on March 8 before St. Patrick’s Parade appearance
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From a press release:

Before the husband-and-wife duo performs live on the Alt 92.1 float during the Scranton St. Patrick’s Parade on Saturday, March 9, Swedish/American indie pop act Flora Cash, known for their hit single “You’re Somebody Else,” will play a full show at Stage West in Scranton on Friday, March 8 at 8 p.m.

Fellow RCA recording artist Kulick from West Penn Township (in Schuylkill County) will open the 21+ concert, along with Gabby Borges and The Charming Beards from the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area.

Doors at Stage West (301 N. Main Ave., Scranton) open at 7 p.m., and the show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets, which are $15 in advance or $18 the day of the show, are on sale now via Prekindle.

As innovation blurs borders and connects individuals everywhere, the world continues to get smaller by way of social media, video chats, and so on and so forth. When two kindred spirits cross paths 4,249 miles away from each other, magic still feels like the best possible explanation how.

Flora Cash emerged at such an intersection. As the story goes, Minneapolis native Cole Randall uploaded his music to SoundCloud. Across the Atlantic, Shpresa Lleshaj stumbled upon his account and started leaving comments under the songs. Facebook messages gave way to an introductory phone conversation, which snowballed into marathon Skype sessions.

Within months, Lleshaj booked a ticket to Minneapolis. The two soulmates met in real life, relocated to Sweden, spent three months renting a room in a London flat due to Visa restrictions, and finally married back in the United States. At the same time, the mystique of the music offset the exuberance of the union between them. The duo stitched together a singular style from threads of personal anxiety, struggle, and ultimately triumph.

“The fact that we’re collaborating comes from our relationship, but there’s more to our experience than the relationship,” affirms Randall. “It’s as if we’re expressing ourselves individually and bringing those elements together within the band. We all lose people, endure hardships, and face issues. We want to talk about all of that in our music.”

“It’s reality, but there is a mystery,” adds Lleshaj.

The mystery quietly intoxicated fans and gatekeepers alike. In 2017, their full-length debut, “Nothing Lasts Forever (And It’s Fine),” attracted widespread tastemaker praise, including a coveted 9-out-of-10 score from Earmilk as well as acclaim from Noisey, Paste, Wonderland Magazine, Elmore Magazine, and The Line of Best Fit, to name a few. The quiet grind paid off as the single “You’re Somebody Else” went viral, clocked seven million streams, topped HypeMachine, and attracted the attention of RCA Records.

Upheld by acoustic guitars and ethereal production, “You’re Somebody Else” hinges on a gorgeously paranoid refrain, “Well you look like yourself, but you’re somebody else – only it ain’t on the surface. Well you talk like yourself. No, I hear someone else though. Now you’re making me nervous.”

“I was going through a rough patch,” admits Randall. “It caused Shpresa to go through a rough patch. My anxiety got the best of the both of us.”

“We were staying in my sister’s apartment where we recorded it,” Lleshaj elaborates. “We lit a candle, Cole played a riff, and we developed this melody. It was like self-therapy for us.”

As they write more music in 2019, the story gets even deeper for Flora Cash.

“It’s important for us to express what’s inside,” she continues. “Whether it’s good, bad, or complicated, we just hope people feel something.”

For as open as the duo may be, one key element will remain a secret.

“We’re really open about who we are, but we’ve never told anyone the meaning of our name,” smiles Randall. “It was based on a conversation with someone close. Now I’ve said more than I’ve ever said to anyone,” he laughs.

That’s the magic of Flora Cash.

Photo by Jason Riedmiller Photography/NEPA Scene