Mirror Might Steal Your Charm

The Garden confuse my poor little brain. On one hand you don’t want to like them, which sounds awful I know. But they have handsome American faces. They’re all athletic and modelesque like a walking Hugo Boss ad (who interestingly they have actually modelled for) You can’t be beautiful and play genre-shredding, kick-arse rock. It simply isn’t fair.

And yet it appears one must lie down and take his medicine like the untalented scrap he is. Because, the catalogue façade of twins Wyatt and Fletcher Shears (24!!) belie their talents as a forward-thinking musical beast and for this you cannot help but give in to them.

While both twins enjoy their own experimental side outfits (called Enjoy and Puzzle respectively) it is together as The Garden where they enjoy their most prominent successes. Mirror Might Steal Your Charm is their third full length LP, though they’ve dropped many EPs since their formation in 2011. To categorise Mirror would be hopeless – leaving genres behind part of The Garden’s whole gig – but there are clear and obvious punk influences above most others. Take ‘Stallion’, the opening 110 second single that rips with an experimental fury similar to notable two-pieces as Drenge or DFA1979.

The lengthier album closer ‘No Destination’ is what ultimately stands out for me, though. In stark contrast to the rough arse ‘Stallion’, ‘No Destination’ is a refined, zealous anthem with a killer bassline running right through the heart.

Thanks for ruining my day The Garden. PS. I love you.

Audio

Tracklist

1. Stallion
2. Make A Wish
3. Shameless Shadow
4. Who Am I Going To Share All Of This Wine With?
5. :(
6. A Message For Myself
7. Call The Dogs Out
8. Good News
9. Voodoo Luck
10. Banana Peel
11. Stylish Spit
12. No Destination

Details

Released: March 2018
Cat: 08714092760214 / Epitaph