from Still Single

If any of you remember at all, you might remember the Garbage and the Flowers from a Twisted Village single dating back to 1992 (which can still be had for not much money); even less of you, by design, would recall their double album compendium Eyes Rind As If Beggars, issued in a blip in the mid-‘90s. Yet this loose collection of individuals, who’ve lived their days between New Zealand and Australia, have been playing and recording pretty much since then, their music mainly available from cassettes and lathe cuts. Two of the three original members, Helen Johnstone and Yuri Frusin, are still participants, while Paul Yates joins in on one of these two tracks, recorded in 2004 and 2005, respectively. Both sound in line with their earliest body of work, but one would hope that nearly twenty years of playing music together would bring about a sense of normalcy about them, almost a calming sensation to know that a few people would make this sort of music their lives’ work. “Alamo Rose” drifts along with natural ease, between hushed, reverent sunset acoustic bask and a folkier, Eastern-tinged chorus. It’s peaceful, shambling, and constructed with ever the slightest nod to a pop anthem – one that’s not going to get up off the porch swing anytime soon, but an anthem all the same. You hear it again in the rangier, electrified “River of Sem” – this one could pass for an earlier Cakekitchen track, bar the vocals, but its chords of hope and slow beat of redemption are of a piece with everything I’ve had the fortune to hear by the band. Normally I’d be bummed about a group of artists who haven’t bothered to change or update their sound, but I don’t think progression is in the cards here; this is their national sound, so to speak, telling of across-the-world beauty that most of us will never experience. My friend Angela is a native and feeds me the most bizarre and enticing stories about growing up there. I can only imagine that this was a shared experience, and the music I love from that land only enforces that ideal in my mind. 300 numbered copies. (Doug Mosurock)

from Yellow Green Red

How relaxed of a band are The Garbage & The Flowers? It's been over a decade since their last release, which means a Greatest Hits collection should be available by the time my grandchildren force me into a home. Both of the songs on this quaint single are filled with a hushed, unhurried atmosphere; this sounds like music made by people whose daily to-do list only consists of "walk the dog" or "water the flowers". "Alamo Rose" is particularly nice, with dual vocals and a slight acid-fried sensation amongst some cooling acoustic picking. "River of Sem" is not quite as soft but still sounds like a happier Brighter, caught jamming on a porch. I'm glad I got to hear these songs, as it’s almost as if The Garbage & The Flowers intended for them to be left out in the sand, slowly eroded by the surf.

from Volcanic Tongue

First vinyl release for this group in 12 years, now relocated from New Zealand to Australia. The Garbage & The Flowers were a key NZ underground outfit, coming out of Wellington in the early-90s and playing a fractured folk-punk take on post-Velvets rock. They may have split NZ over a decade ago but their sound is still damaged by that country’s no-fi underground, with a crude production style that pushes zoned vocals up to the front supported by Mo Tucker drums and ragged electric guitar. If you’re a fan of Alastair Galbraith/This Kind Of Punishment et al then this should be pretty irresistible. Hand-numbered edition of 300 copies with one track from 2004 and another from 2005. Recommended.