Customer Reviews

In the Garden

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The Shroud have proven themselves to be a highly eclectic darkwave group, bringing a wide variety of sounds to their intriguingly haunting and gorgeously artistic music. This album is no different. "In the Garden" is a highly atmospheric romp through a dark, moody, otherworldly plane of existence.

The first and title track, "In the Garden" is an eerie prelude foreshadowing and setting the mood for the remainder of the album. Lydia Fortner's dramatic and breathy vocals on this track truly give a sense of ominously ethereal beauty. "Mirrorworld" combines a mellow, steady, rhythmic beat to back up Lydia's vocals, which border somewhere between mid-range singing and spoken word. "Green Velvet" adds more noticeable guitars and drums, with intriguing keyboard interludes.

Track four, "Psychopsis," is reminiscent of a child's distant cries. This track, like the title track, is a short interlude rather than a full-length song. "Vision" is a highly danceable track with excellent guitars and drums. "Black" tones things down once again with a mellow yet pounding beat. Lydia's lyrics on this piece seem particularly poetic and melancholic. "Let Go" continues the mood and pace set during "Black."

"Valeriana" is yet another instrumental interlude, consisting of a quaint tapping on the piano. "Pandora" picks things up a bit with a guitar-driven beat and catchy lyrics. "Spiral Back" is more driven by drums and keyboards, yet still catchy and trance-inducing nonetheless. "Collector" sits itself comfortably into a mellow groove achieved via rhythmic guitars, and is almost folksy. "Dans Le Jardin" rounds out the album by returning us to sounds similar to the opening title track, but adds a flute into the mix.

Overall, The Shroud really show off their talent on this release, as well as their ability to incorporate various artistic influences in order to create an album that is really on entire movement rather than a mere collection of songs. This particular album is subtle in both its message and execution, feeling very much like a trance-induced dream state. Lydia's voice is not strained to any extent, as she chooses to stay in a lower vocal range throughout this album's entirety. This only serves to enhance the mellow and psychedelic mood that perseveres for the CD's duration. The light, airy, and atmospheric instrumentation backs up these vocals beautifully. Turn out the lights, light some candles, and kick back to treat yourself to this music that is truly too beautiful to ignore!

Also recommended: "Chasing the Ghost" by Collide, "Haunted" by Poe, and "A Dark Moon Night" by The Shroud.

Woo Hooooo!

Just like This Ascension, The Shroud's vocals and music have gotten better with each album. I went six tracks IN A ROW before scanning ahead. Lydia Fortner's voice has reached a plateau; It's not operatic or aggressive, and she stays strong in the mid-range. The melodies and instruments have more variety and a little less drama than on earlier CDs. Nothing sounds rushed or urgent, so you can sink into the atmosphere like a warm velvet recliner.

Some tracks, like the opener and "Psychopsis," are ethereal bridges between the goth-pop tracks. The more concrete songs have a lazy, sexy appeal similar to that of Collide's music. "Mirrorworld" and "Black" are each a perfect blend of mellow vocals, psychadelic touches, and a sultry drum loop. "Green Velvet" is catchy, featuring The Shroud's standard lyrical style - easy to follow and clearly sung. They've been listening to electronica and trip-hop here and there, you can tell. It goes well with the frequent acoustic guitar.

"Vision" is the song Janet Jackson would do if she ever went darkwave. I caught myself humming "Weeee are a paaart of the Rhyyythm Nation!" during the verse. Tailor-made for the dancefloor. The rest of the songs are in much the same style as on the last album, "A Dark Moon Night." Nothing wrong with that.

"In The Garden" is a gentle spin on goth via folk-pop. The members still dress right out of SNL's "Goth Talk," but this album is sure to have wider appeal if college and alternative stations get around to playing it. Good stuff, indeed.

'In The Garden' is The Shroud's third release and it is definitely deserving of your immediate attention. I don't have their debut 'Long Ago and Far Away' yet but, unlike most fans, I find myself favoring this album over 'A Dark Moon Night' which was also very good. 'In The Garden' is chock-full of dreamy, infectious melodies and, to me, is more accessible than 'A Dark Moon Night'. Whenever I get an itch to hear something by The Shroud I almost always seem to pop in this album...

Lydia Fortener has a voice that's akin to Faith and the Muse's Monica Richards. It's at times whispery and ethereal while at other times fiercely dynamic, which goes perfect with the moody, otherworldly Gothic-rock rhythms, and a few atmoshperic openers/interludes that range from ominous to gorgeous. Musically the material is mighty impressive but lyrically this record is also very strong. Not one song on here is disposable of and I especially love the beautiful, melodic tracks "Let Go", "Spiral Back" and "Collector".

I'm pleased to know that Collide is not the only talented Goth group to come out of the Los Angeles area, and I am proud to say that they are a local band I look forward to *hopefully* seeing live someday.

The first time I listened to this album, I hated it-- it's a distinct departure from their previous two (both of which I would rate 5 stars)-- but after a few more listens, I began to get into its subtle charms. It is mellower and more dreamlike, and works better as a whole than as individual tracks. Like other listeners, I expected something longer (especially after 3 years), but then I don't know what has transpired during that period of time. Still, Lydia's voice is as wonderful as ever, as is the band's playing.

the shroud have always seem to satisfy my musical craving with each release that they have created, certainly this album is definately up to the quality in terms of what you would expect from one of the most talented inovative groups around today.
With the trademark sound that they have grown accustomed to, but with a little more qualities about this record that makes it stand out from their previous releases.
songs that stand out, well nearly all of them....but the highpoints are pieces like, mirrorworld....which basically saturates past a point that you are tranported through to another place!
there are many more great songs here for that person who likes to listen to music with "vision" in it.
I strongly give my recommend...although the only downside for me is there are to many instrumental breaks and interludes throughout the album.

The Shroud are a rarity, indeed. An American band playing dark, moody gothic rock - and from sunny L.A., at that! On this new album, better production and increased use of electronic textures elevates their unique sound to better heights. However, my problem with the album is its brevity. If you think this is an album with 12 real songs, as the titles suggest, think again. Four of the "songs" are rather pointless instrumental interludes, obviously included to pad the running time of the album, which at only 43 minutes, is already too short. What we're left with is 8 actual songs, clocking in at around a total of 35 minutes. The songs themselves are all excellent, further expanding the band's repertoire beyond their guitar-bass-drums gothic roots, but I'd have preferred to pay the price of an e.p. or mini-album, which this sorta is - or, better yet, have a longer album! Is this all they could come up with in three years?! Albums do seem to be getting shorter these days, and with compact discs holding 80 minutes, that's a real disappointment.