Garden: In a Galery, In a Grave

Garden is actually the brainchild of Samuel Bradley, a citizen of Edinburgh, Scotland and In a Gallery, In a Grave is, I think the third EP put out under the Garden name, following on from 2013's excellent Somewhere Else which I reviewed as being '�music for adults amongst us where songs and ideas are given time to breath,� which very much remains the case.

I often find writing about instrumental music to be quite difficult so Mr. Bradley helps s out with a few indications about the origins of the music. “Pondlife is a bit of a childhood memoir of loneliness in spite of company.� There's some tasty guitar work on view on this one which to me suggests little bit of anger and chaos as well especially when juxtaposed against the alluring flute work and excellent percussion. It would be too easy to suggest echoes of the mighty Focus so I won't but there are and this is always a good thing.

“Via Negativa" is a bit of a mirror image of "Pondlife", in that it also concerned with loneliness, but rather with the perverse pleasure, earnest or not, taken in being alone. Arguably this is the most 'rock' song on offer but in a very pleasurable way it reminds me of late 80s Pat Metheny and again, kudos to the percussion on this one.

“Glass Eye was originally entitled Still Being, pinched from a poem by Christine De Luca from the Edinburgh literature journal The Evergreen. The poem's subtitle is Heron in the Botanics, and the original inspiration for my own song sprang from a sighting of a heron along the Water of Leith.� This one clocks in at over thirteen minutes long and builds from carefully constructed, quiet opening to a rhythmic delight by the middle of the song with delightful piano before slowing and meandering towards the end and seems to me to be like a typical day in one's life with all the bustle being in the middle.

Once again, Samuel Bradley in his Garden guise has provided us with a really classy, grown up release which I am confident will be one worth pulling out time after time in the future perchance as an antidote to the Cardi Bs of the world.

Track Listing:
1) Pondlife
2) Via Negativa
3) Glass Eye

Added: October 4th 2020
Reviewer: Simon Bray
Score:
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 995
Language: english

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