hello all - up now for pre-order & shipping within a few weeks, debut release from Garden Of Love, art-rockers/prog-punkers from Montreal . Shares members with Laughing, Faze, Ursula & some others.
'Love Is Coming' is the first release from art-rock trio Garden of Love. They hail from Montréal,, Quebec and they rep their local scene with pride. As singer Jane Harms says, "We are lucky to live in a busy music city where DIY punk, alternative and experimental music scenes overlap with a lot of mutual support and cross-pollination.” The Montréal scene’s diversity is proved by Garden of Love’s busy members.
In addition to Harms—who plays guitar and synth in addition to vocals and has a album with labelmate Donna Allen—there is drummer Cole, who is responsible for recording this debut and is also a member of popular pop-rockers Laughing and vicious punks Faze, and bassist Sony, who played in gnarly noise rockers Cheap Wig and underrated post-punk unit Ursula. But the aforementioned pedigree does not prepare you for what Garden Of Love is serving up on their debut. Released on cassette and digital download by New York’s Ever/Never Records, 'Love Is Coming' is a supremely confident venture into the art-rock demimonde full of unexpected twists and turns executed by a well-oiled group of players.
Linked together by sample collages and bursts of punky provocation, the songs on 'Love Is Coming' are like miniature prog-pop suites condensed into radio-friendly runtimes. Garden of Love gets the little details right, like the odd wooshes of synthesizer that creep into the breaks on opener “Another Wall.” The guitars are flanged and phased the perfect amount, giving the lines a distinctly stinging quality. The rhythm section is solid, but elastic, remaining firmly in the pocket, never overwhelming the songs. “Garden Window” has a weird stutter to it, growing more hallucinogenic as it goes along before being seduced by the perspiration of desire and a longing for a place to call one’s own. “Letter” is airy and insistent at the same time, with a sci-fi pulse coursing underneath the hammering drums. What if Pere Ubu had tried to write power-pop hits? “Silly Rules” reveals the strangeness behind “jazzy” pop music, like The Sea and Cake
recording for Homestead Records as the song wraps up with a warped section straight off an Orthotonics side (iykyk). “See Thru” floats along like a lost 1960s Brazilian pop 45, while closer “Carry On” keeps calm and lowkey rocks the f out.
Prepare thyself—love is coming.
— Erick Bradshaw
Spin Age Blasters with Creamo Coyl
on WFMU
