The Garden are unlike anyone you’ll ever hear or see. Sonically, they have few obvious points of comparison, and very little attachment to any specific musical genre. Visually, they somehow resemble an amalgamation of Insane Clown Posse and Bon Jovi.
Under the grease paint, flannel and leather are twin brothers Wyatt and Fletcher Shears. They have modeled for Yves Saint Laurent, Hugo Boss, Ugg, and Balenciaga, and one would think that would be enough to lean into: Pretty siblings making eccentric music adored by the cognoscenti. Nope. It appears that whatever keen-eyed sleuths try to deduce The Garden will do next, they don’t.
Their music is a blender filled with elements of Mindless Self Indulgence (if they were less mindless), Ariel Pink (because rules no longer apply), and some punk-influenced electro-pop. The brothers call their look thrift store glam and their sound “Vada Vada” — “an idea of pure creative expression that disregards all previously made genres and ideals,” in their words.
It makes sense that this lo-fi, high-minded duo would first land at Burger Records, a bastion of DIY attitude and eccentricity. The brothers Shears started out in 2011 on a split cassette self-release, then signed with Burger, and channelled Beavis and Butt-head on the cover art for their self-titled 2012 Burger rollout — 12 tracks, mostly instrumental, each titled “The …” something, none longer than 1:10, everything sounding like a high schooler’s GarageBand tryout for music placement in TV promos.
But the spark, confidence and referential ease were apparent right away. More albums followed. Punk mainstay Epitaph Records joined forces with The Garden, and indie stardom was assured. Today, there’s no more label patronage — The Garden went their own way with 2022’s self-released Horseshit on Route 66. They played Coachella in 2023, and that album — their latest — is a big reason they were tapped for such a prestige gig even as a newly-unsigned act, Check it out and hear for yourself what this kaleidoscope of an album does to your brain.
The Garden play with the Spits 7pm Friday, June 21 at at Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale. thegardenvadavada.com ~ Tim Moffatt
