Haunting, Building, Built Different
I really like GARDEN, a new indie rock band from Northampton, UK. There’s something a little more unique and a little dangerous about their sound that I appreciate above the rest of the alternative rock scene in the UK right now. There’s a lot of great young guitar bands in the UK, but a lot of the musical composition starts to blend together more and more.
GARDEN set themselves apart. Yes, they have some comparisons to groups like Inhaler or The Howl and The Hum, but GARDEN blends antagonistic, provocative lyrics with a disquieting combination of lo-fi guitar tones, deep, dragging bass-lines, and heavy drumming. You can hear a lot of this signature type of sound in songs like “Blue” and “Halfway House,” while other tracks like “Sad Smile” are more stripped back and directly emotional.
2020 saw a release of multiple different singes from GARDEN, all of which are quite impressive songwriting and performance. They also have some cool live performances and music videos on their Youtube page to check out. Hopefully, we’ll see more new releases from the group soon, so we can experience the unique quality and voice of a band like this.
Best Song:
“Love Me to Death” (Single)
Honorable Mentions:
“Halfway House” (Single)
“Blue” (Single)
Best Lyric:
“Have you ever felt so alone you don’t want to speak” – From “Sad Smile”