21-year-old twin brothers Fletcher and Wyatt Shears are near impossible to tell apart. Working together as The Garden, the Californian pair share a united creative vision.
They recently finished recording their second album, Haha, which we’ll get to taste when they arrive for their debut Australian tour this week. Like the band’s 2013 debut, The Life And Times Of A Paperclip, Hahahas a loaded tracklistcontaining 17 songs, many of which are made up of the barest elements and fall short of 60 seconds.
In contrast to its predecessor, however, Hahaincludes a handful of longer songs and an expanded textural palette. Although you might infer the terser tracks are impulsively conceived and brashly recorded, each song is of equal significance for the band.
“We enjoy doing what we’ve always done, which is make short, simplistic songs,” says Wyatt. “But I personally felt the need to expand upon that, because I know that I have more to offer with my songwriting than a seven-second song. This record, like the next ones that will come along, serves as my own personal experimentation with my music and how I can creatively progress.”
“Each song on this album has a meaning behind it and something that’s important to us,” says Fletcher. “No song on this album serves as a filler.”
Akin to their debut, the album’s core elements are drums, bass and the Shears twins’ dual vocals. But the majority of tracks gain extra distinction thanks to the inclusion of piano, synth, multiple bass tracks and weird sound effects.
“There isn’t any guitar on this record, but the foundation is mostly bass and drums,” says Wyatt. “Another way that we’ve been songwriting is through the computer. What I will do is assemble a song very simplistically, using drum loops, my own bass and synth, and I will sort of pitch it to the both of us. If we can both agree on using it, Fletcher will replace the drum loops and thankfully add in his own unique version. Sometimes we will even use the original synth track, from when it was recorded at home, in the studio.”
With their roots in a primal, punk rock aesthetic, the brothers were somewhat concerned about how they’d account for all the extra instrumental details live. “We figured it out, but it can be so tricky when playing live,” says Fletcher.
“We weren’t exactly sure how we were going to use all of these other sounds live, and that worried us,” Wyatt agrees. “But eventually, after trying a few different options, we finally settled on a trigger pad. It can be tricky at times, but once you get in its groove, it’s a lot of fun.”
While the first half of the album is fairly instantaneous, it grows increasingly adventurous in the second half (especially on the late-album epic ‘Egg’, which cracks the three-minute mark and is replete with lush piano embellishment). This dynamic progression indicates where the band could journey in future.
“The aim is to be versatile and non-contrived,” says Wyatt. “We want to keep demonstrating the progression we’ve made with the album and we want to keep moving forward even after this comes out. I’ve already began writing a lot for the next one. We are both big on melody, and I think we’d be cheating ourselves if we stayed overly raw with the whole thing.”
“We definitely aren’t trying to shock anyone with this album – although the reaction might end up like that,” says Fletcher. “We get great pleasure out of moving forward with our music and ourselves. We feel that there is really no need to stay in one place just because that’s what people perceive us to be.”
Throughout Haha, the influence of numerous iconic artists makes itself known. Everyone from the Beastie Boys, Bad Brains and Sonic Youth to The Fall, Beat Happening and Minutemen appears to have had an impact upon The Garden’s stylistic outlook. Everything has its roots somewhere, and a lot of the time an idea’s origins are somewhat inscrutable. Nevertheless, The Garden are committed to defying genre restrictions.
“With every piece of art comes some sort of inspiration beforehand,” says Wyatt. “What I like to always think about when it comes to influences and inspirations is to take a little bit from something and then to stir it around and make it my own and unique. I think that it’s important to give your art some of your own uniqueness. I enjoy a pretty wide range of different bands and artists and MCs, but they have already made their legacies – I want to make sure that I can create my own.”
In the past, The Garden have highlighted the Vada Vada philosophy, which underlies all their creative exploits. Vada Vada is based on pure expression and defying pigeonholing, but it’s not intended as a pretentious assertion of originality.
“Nothing we create will be completely original,” says Fletcher. “But if it showcases who we are in some way, or genuinely comes straight from us without copying another song, it feels good. It’s that pure expression. If you pull from inside yourself, your songs and art will literally start to sound like you.”
The Garden’sHaha is out Friday October 9 through Burger/Epitaph, and they playNewtown Social ClubSunday September 27 withBig White and Angie.
