Melbourne/ Newcastle four-piece Gardens have been bringing their brand of garage-disco-pop to stages up and down the east coast of Australia for the better part of four years now. Whilst recorded material of the psych-rock outfit has proven elusive, the release of new single ‘Philadelphia’ ahead of their first full-length LP is an early Christmas present sure to please patient fans.
‘Philadelphia’ offers up some sublime psychedelic funk in its opening two thirds. Rhythmic guitar plucks drive both melody and tempo before swells of synth enhance the chorus call; “So I fell for you, Philadelphia”. Funky strums syncopating with raw percussive runs that aren’t shy of snare-heavy fills make this first recorded offering instantly accessible.
Inspired by a Louis Theroux episode exploring the obscurity of attaining the “American Dream”, or whatever that represents in contemporary times, Garden’s funk-pop filled tune descends into a down-tempo hallucinatory final minute where everything grounds to a standstill. Perhaps as a metaphor for the underlying theme, this once sugar-coated landscape appears instantly denser and deeper. With phaser filled everything, Tame Impala’s 2017 record Current’s leaps to mind as the track cuts abruptly mid trip.
As a taste-test of things to come, Garden’s have offered up a phenomenal first single to open their account and spark interest surrounding next year’s release.
Garden’s debut LP is out sometime early 2020.