The Big Ones: The future of British pop are ready to FLO

As they prepare to drop their debut album 'Access All Areas', Britain's most exciting girl group are ready to show why they're so much more than your typical viral sensation.

The big releases you need to hear from the week ahead.

As they prepare to drop their debut album 'Access All Areas', Britain's most exciting girl group are ready to show why they're so much more than your typical viral sensation.

Words: Dan Harrison.

It's 2021, and somewhere in the algorithm-driven depths of The Internet, three voices are cutting through the digital noise like a hot diamond knife (We all have one - Ed) through room-temperature Lurpak. 'Cardboard Box' isn't just going viral – it's reminding an entire generation what they've been missing since the golden age of girl groups packed up their matching outfits and headed for the great reunion tour in the sky.

Fast forward to now, and FLO are about to drop their debut album 'Access All Areas' (this Friday, 15th November, mark your calendars and set your alarms). Britain's most exciting new group are finally claiming the empty throne.

"It's been a long time in the making," Stella Quaresma explains, with the kind of measured patience that suggests she's been asked about the album's arrival time approximately seven million times (and counting). "We love it. We're very proud of it. It's taken time, but necessary time. We think everyone is going to love it; we put our all into it." Coming from a group who've already snagged both the BRITs Rising Star Award and BBC Radio 1's Sound of poll in the same year, "all" means quite a lot.

At the helm of this pop odyssey is MNEK, serving as executive producer and unofficial fairy godfather to Britain's next great hope. "MNEK executive produced it," Jorja Douglas explains, painting a picture of studio perseverance that would make Rocky reach for his protein shake. "He's been the constant, saying we need to get things done, being patient with us, going back and recording stuff and adding stuff and really pushing through. We thank him for getting through this."

When you've got one of British pop's finest minds in your corner, you know something special is brewing. The result is an album that promises to do what seemed impossible – capture the magic of '90s R&B while somehow making it feel fresher than homemade lemonade. "We want to bring a mix of old and new, different sounds because we want to push our sound and explore a bit more," Renée Downer reveals. "It's songs that you can feel. The feeling of music is very important."

Their back catalogue of singles have shown exactly what she means. 'Walk Like This' and 'Fly Girl' (the latter featuring actual honest-to-goodness Missy Elliott – casual) showcase a group who've evolved beyond their viral breakout moment faster than you can say "sophomore slump who?" The title track feels like a statement of intent wrapped in harmonies that could make En Vogue take notes.

But don't go thinking this is just a nostalgia trip. While their influences might reach back to the golden age of MTV, FLO are very much focused on writing their own chapter. "I feel like we know the FLO sound a bit differently to our audience because we made the album," Stella explains, with the quiet confidence of someone who knows they're sitting on something special. "We've been very experimental. We've got different genres in there, all under R&B. It's just great music, innit really?"

That experimentation flows through every aspect of their work. Unlike some of the pop groups of yesteryear, who were often handed songs like uniforms, FLO have a hand on the steering wheel. "It's really hard to connect with a song that's not us," Jorja points out. "No songs necessarily sound the same. We had to throw in the odd little slow jam." This isn't just music by committee – it's art by intention.

The timing of their rise feels almost cosmic. With Little Mix having bid farewell and heading off to work on solo projects, there's been a girl group-shaped hole in British pop that's been begging to be filled. But FLO aren't feeling the weight of those expectations – they're too busy creating their own legacy. "At a certain point, it did get a bit stressful because everyone was like, where's the album?!" Renée admits. "It was carnage, but we set ourselves the goals and we work towards the goals, so we just had to follow our own timeline, and when it was ready, it was ready."

Jorja jumps in with the kind of enthusiasm that makes you want to pre-order the album twice: "And we put another EP out since then. We've put two EPs out, for Pete's sake, in two years. Now you're getting an album. Please don't say we don't feed you. You are fed. We've got full mouths in our household."

But for all they've achieved – the viral moments, the awards, the Missy Elliott cosign – FLO are hungry for more. "We'd love a top 10! A number one," Renée admits, while Jorja follows with characteristic ambition: "We'd really love to break through. We love what we've built so far. We're so appreciative and that has really given us the space and pushed us to create the best music, but we are ready to take it to the next level. We just need to figure out how. Until then, we're going to keep putting out our absolute best and keep building our true core fans and what will be will be."

As Friday approaches and 'Access All Areas' sits on the runway, FLO could well be on the brink of something special. Their chemistry is the kind of lightning-in-a-bottle magic that turns good groups into great ones. They're not here to fill anyone else's shoes; they're creating footprints all their own.

Their music speaks to universal themes while remaining uniquely theirs, filtered through the experiences of three young Black women navigating the complexities of the 2020s with harmony, humour, and enough talent to make the 90s jealous. Your move, British pop.

FLO's debut album 'Access All Areas' is out 15th November.

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