* En anglais uniquement
West Coast bass-and-drums punk duo
the Garden rose through the ranks of the wonky, lo-fi
Burger Records scene with quirky cassettes like 2012's Everything Is Perfect and 2013's
The Life and Times of a Paperclip before notching a deal with Epitaph Records and earning greater exposure with albums like 2018's
Mirror Might Steal Your Charm and 2020's
Kiss My Super Bowl Ring.
Growing up in the hardcore music of
Saccharine Trust,
the Minutemen, and
Killing Joke, and sharing the quirky insider humor of bands like
Dead Milkmen,
They Might Be Giants, and
Ween, twin brothers Fletcher and Wyatt Shears started
the Garden in their hometown of Orange, California when they were 19 years old. After departing from their first band, M.H.V., and briefly modeling for Yves Saint Laurent, the two decided to make a go as a duo. With Fletcher on drums (easily identifiable by his blonde hair and habitual cross-dressing) and Wyatt singing and playing bass,
the Garden released a debut cassette titled Everything Is Perfect in 2012, with
The Life and Times of a Paperclip and the EP Rules appearing the following summer with first two appearing on
Burger Records. During this time, Fletcher Shears began releasing mostly electronic solo material under his side project
Puzzle, and Wyatt started his synth/bass project Enjoy.
The Garden toured extensively in 2014 and 2015, stopping in Tokyo, the U.S., and Europe. In the fall of 2015, they issued the freewheeling, 17-track electro-punk LP
Haha, a split production between
Burger and Epitaph Records.
The Garden's self-produced Epitaph follow-up,
Mirror Might Steal Your Charm, arrived in 2018 featuring a slightly more guitar-driven sound. After collaborating with
Mac DeMarco on the 2019 single "Thy Mission," the brothers returned in early 2020 with the typically irreverent
Kiss My Super Bowl Ring, which featured guest spots from
Ariel Pink and
Le1f, among others. ~ Jason Lymangrover & Marcy Donelson