Gardens & Villa

by Gardens & Villa

Overview

After recording in Starfucker's home city of Portland, Oregon, Gardens & Villa released their debut album on Yeasayer's label Secretly Canadian, and coincidentally, Gardens & Villa sound a lot like a cross between those two groups. Similarly, Levi Hayden, Shane McKillop, Adam Rasmussen, and Chris Lynch make warm indie pop with airy falsettos and retro synths. It's a tranquil listen, even when a picnic song like the chillwavey "Orange Blossom," with its pseudo-sexy hook "Think of me like a swarm of bees/Circling around your knees/To pollinate means ecstasy," gives way into the chugging acoustics of "Thorn Castles," a jam that's brisk enough for a jog on the beach. References to the outdoors are peppered all over the album -- from "Black Hills" to "Carrizo Plain"-- and this naturalist theme, combined with the digital production, gives the record a nice sense of balance, even if it sometimes lacks originality. ~ Jason Lymangrover

Product Details

Release Date:	07/05/2011
Label:	Secretly Canadian
UPC:	0656605023526
Rank:	182940

Tracks

1. Black Hills
2. Cruise Ship
3. Thorn Castles
4. Orange Blossom
5. Spacetime
6. Chemtrails
7. Star Fire Power
8. Sunday Morning
9. Carrizo Plain
10. Neon Dove

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Gardens & Villa   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Richard Swift   Producer
Levi Hayden   Group Member
Chris Lynch   Group Member
Adam Rasmussen   Group Member
Dustin Damron   Photography
T.W. Walsh   Mastering
Shane McKillop   Group Member