Rahill Jamalifard - Flowers At Your Feet (LP) - Olive Green Vinyl

Rahill Jamalifard’s first solo outing feels like walking home through New York after midnight, when the city is quiet enough to hear your own thoughts but still humming under the surface. Known to many as the voice of Brooklyn band Habibi, she steps out on Flowers At Your Feet with a calm confidence that suits her. Released in May 2023 on Big Dada, the Ninja Tune imprint, this is not a splashy pivot or a collage of guest features for the sake of it. It’s a lived in, carefully tuned record that lets space and texture do the heavy lifting.

The production, handled with a light touch by Alex Epton, leans warm and tactile. You get low slung bass, brushed drums, soft synth beds and little analogue flourishes that feel like they were pulled from a crate digger’s favourite Sunday. Rahill sings the way people speak when they trust you, gently conversational, but then a melody blooms and you realise how much she’s holding back until she isn’t. It’s a record of restraint and release, which suits songs about memory, family and the slow work of finding your footing.

“Fables,” the single with a cameo from Beck, is the easy entry point. It doesn’t grandstand. Instead, it nods toward trip hop and classic indie with a woozy rhythm and a subtle call and response that loosens into something tender by the second chorus. Beck’s presence never steals the scene, it folds in, and that’s the tone of the album as a whole. Every element serves the song.

Elsewhere, Rahill threads her Iranian American heritage through the writing without turning it into a thesis. You might catch a turn of phrase or a melodic mode that nudges you toward old Persian pop or the psych records many of us first heard through reissue labels, and then she brings you back to present day Brooklyn with a line that lands like a text from a friend. It’s patient music. Small details reward repeat spins. A tambourine flick in the left channel. A synth that wobbles just enough to feel human.

“I Smile for E” sits in that pocket, bright on the surface with something bittersweet underneath. She has a knack for singing about doubt without getting dour. The choruses lift, quietly, and the bridges open into little fields where the arrangement breathes. That sense of space feels intentional. Epton leaves air around her voice so that the lyrics can carry, and the songs feel built for rooms rather than playlists. You could see these working at Baby’s All Right or a cosy Melbourne room like the Night Cat, where a crowd leans in and the bass feels like a second heartbeat.

What struck me most is how steady the record is. Debuts often try to do everything at once. Flowers At Your Feet knows what it wants to be. Mid tempo, nocturnal, a little dusty around the edges. It also avoids nostalgia traps. Even when a progression hints at 60s soul or a drum pattern nods to 90s downtempo, the writing keeps you here and now. That comes down to Rahill’s voice. She sings with clarity, never overselling, which makes the moments of lift feel earned.

If you’re a vinyl listener, this is a beauty for late evenings. The bass sits warm, the highs are soft, and the quiet passages feel alive. Flowers At Your Feet vinyl will likely become one of those records you reach for when you’re not sure what you’re in the mood for, because it doesn’t demand attention to reward you. It just catches you and holds you there. For collectors who search out Rahill vinyl or want to buy Rahill records online, it’s an easy recommendation, and it sits neatly next to Habibi on the shelf if you’re filing Rahill albums on vinyl together. If you’re crate hunting at a Melbourne record store or browsing vinyl records Australia wide, don’t be surprised if you find a staff pick card tucked under this one.

There’s a quiet assurance running through these songs that hints at a long runway. Rahill has always had taste, that was clear with Habibi, but here you hear patience turning into its own kind of style. Flowers At Your Feet doesn’t shout to be heard. It just plays, and if you let it, it stays.