Twelve Gardens are a duo from Portland, with chetty b. on guitar and vocals and katie k. on drums and vocals. Their sound is a blend of many different influences, what label Reflective Tapes describe as “elements of post-rock, garage, emo, classic American indie and much more”. Twelve Gardens released their debut back in February (which we called “storm of lo-fi goodness that swirls around vocals sometimes quiet and sometimes not”), and have now returned with Feed the Bug.
The album opens with the instrumental ‘Crossing’, which shifts and swirls in a cloud of 90s grunge, dissonant squealing guitar and slapped drums. The song seemingly finds its sense of purpose around the 5 minute mark, narrowing its focus and driving forward at a sauntering gallop. Follow-up ‘Everyone I Know’ introduces vocals, which are surprisingly soft and gentle amongst the instrumentation.
“i’ve got reasons why i go to the woods at night
everyone that i know is standing all around
they say its okay now
chetty it’s okay”
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‘Captain Spark’ has a kind of inelegant rhythm before ending in a snarl of guitar and crash of drums and the repeated line “i see you hiding but i wanna move forward”. ‘Crowded Room’ is probably the album’s most danceable track, lo-fi guitar sashaying around katie’s drums, while ‘Care Song’ is a joyously raucous instrumental, chetty’s guitar searing through the gloomy lo-fi rock vibes. ‘hahaha’ is much more ruminative, hoping and wishing for, or perhaps even promising, something different:
“im gonna be my own star in a gross world
im gonna lean on you
dont you know angels are dreaming of you
plants are in your front yard
i wanna fall asleep on my back
think of nothing for awhile”
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The vocals on ‘Shimmer’ are soft and breathy and barely there, delivering opaque and simple lyrics that are thick with imagery, like how minimalist photographs of everyday scenes can sometimes be infused with something more. Closer ‘Sister Girl’ is enveloped in a shadowy lo-fi atmosphere, like a sweaty basement show from the 90s, all screeching guitar and unpredictable percussion. It’s a cool end to a really great collection of songs.
You can get Feed the Bug now on cassette from Reflective Tapes or as a download from the Twelve Gardens Bandcamp page.
