FLO Says Learning to Speak Up in the Studio Changed Everything on ‘Therapy at the Club’

Majestic girl group FLO is entering their sophomore era with intense momentum. Ahead of the Aug. 7 release of Therapy at the Club, the British R&B trio offers Billboard a closer look at the 16-song project, which includes previously released songs “Leak It,” “Don’t Break Her Heart” and the title track, as well as yet-to-be-released songs “Floating,” “Cry Ugly,” “HaterBooth,” “Miss U Missing Me” and “Small Doses.”

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Behind the music, though, there was a creative shift that the trio says happened long before the tracklist was finalized.

Speaking with Billboard, FLO shares that making Therapy at the Club meant becoming more outspoken in the studio, even when it felt uncomfortable. Instead of holding back their feedback, the group said they learned to trust their instincts and advocate for what they wanted the album to sound and feel like.

“It felt really good,” member Stella Quaresma says. “I think that it comes to a point where you just have to rip the Band-Aid off. Some things can feel confrontational or uncomfortable, but we’re all in the room to make a great song.”

That mindset, they explain, changed the entire creative process.

“It feels good to just say how you feel and say, ‘I don’t like that,’ or ‘try that,’” Quaresma continued, adding that speaking up left the group “in a much better place creatively.”

The confidence seems to have carried over into every corner of the album-making process. Compared to debut album Access All Areas, which introduced the trio’s rich harmonies and nostalgic R&B influences, FLO says Therapy at the Club reflects who they are as both artists and women.

“It definitely feels more grown,” Renée Downer says. “We have grown up. We have been heavily involved in the album. We immersed ourselves into it… figuring out what needed healing and figuring out what we wanted to talk about. It feels very honest and more real.”

That evolution extends beyond the songwriting. While discussing the cinematic music video for their song “Leak It,” the group candidly admitted they hadn’t been “100% happy” with some of their previous music videos, making it a priority for this era’s visuals to better showcase the ambition of the songs.

“We knew that song had to have a big moment and a big video,” Quaresma states. Downer chimes in as well, adding, “You want to make the video an accurate representation of the music. If the music feels big, it’s always kind of sad if the video doesn’t match it.”

The album arrives after a breakout stretch for FLO: Access All Areas earned the triad a Grammy nomination for best progressive R&B album earlier this year.

If Access All Areas introduced FLO to the world, Therapy at the Club appears poised to show listeners a more self-assured version of the trio: one that’s no longer afraid to speak up, both inside and outside the recording studio.