Customer Reviews

Death in the Garden Blood on the Flowers

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Decent indie-pop driven by steady drum beats, catchy guitar riffs, and the occasional well placed keyboard. Although most songs are mediocre at worst, there are a few gems that outshine the rest and make it worth a few listens. They sound A LOT like Beulah (point in case: track 7, Situation). You can definitely hear the potential, perhaps their next album will bring it all together.

Recommended tracks:
#7 Situation - Their first single, amazingly catchy drum beat and vocals. Very sing-a-longy.
#4 Death in the Garden, Blood on the Flowers - The bass line makes this song what it is, along with the amazing clapping.
#8 I Want to Love You in My Room - Another bass driven song, which is always good.
#1 The Gentle Preservation of Children's Minds - A little slower than the other songs, but nonetheless good. Very catchy guitar riff.

I'm not sure how I first came across Irving, perhaps it was the LA Times review which describe this album as the Beach Boys meets Alfred Hitchcock . . . To my ear, it sounds like Joy Division meets the Beach Boys with a pinch of Beatles, but I've also seen them compared to the Shins.

Irving is a collective, in the true sense of the word--there is no frontman--vocal and songwriting duties are shared by at least three different people--this lends an eclectic and interesting kind of order to the record. My favorite tracks are "She's Not Shy," "Jen" and "If You Say Jump"--but the entire album is good (and they're even better if you have the chance to catch them live!)

I first heard Irving a few years ago at the Noise Pop Festival, and they skyrocketed to my favorite band overnight. I catch their show every time they play in town, and they are consistently fun, energetic and the music is just beyond catchy.

It's so rare to find a band where every single song is consistently great, but somehow Irving pulls it off. I cannot give a higher recommendation for this band and this album. Every person I've played it for has been hooked, even those who "don't like the bands today." Do yourself a really big favor and check out any of the Irving albums, and try to catch a live show if at all possible. You won't be disappointed! Frankly I'm shocked they haven't become as famous as Death Cab or Belle & Sebastian. If you like either of those bands, Beulah, The Aislers Set or The New Pornographers, you'll love Irving.

There's definitely a Beach Boys meets the Beatles influence, with incredible musical hooks and a modern indie pop sensibility. I can hardly wait for the next album!

Do you like your Los Angeles based indie rock to be just like its weather, sunny and gorgeous? Well if you do, Los Angeles' own Irving definently fulfills this. 13 tracks of perfectly aligned indie rock can be found here, in their latest release, "Death in the Garden Blood on the Flowers." Come for the great vocals and guitar riffs, but stay for the keyboards, the best part of this new record.

The songs are very driven and powerful. The video is worth watching very different from most stuff you see these days. I recommend this CD very highly.

Maybe once a year, an album comes out that wedges itself into your car's CD player. You can't stop singing along with it. Your kids fight over what the best songs are. You recommend it to friends, and they can't believe it's from a band that's almost totally unknown.

This is that album for 2006. Imagine a bunch of stoners waking up and trying to sound like the Cars and Pavement and the Kinks and Ultravox, all at the same time. That captures about ten percent of what makes these guys great.

What a fun album! I plucked off single after single from i-tunes until I just had to get the whole album. Just start with I want to love you in my room or Situation, and then go from there.