Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Garden Variety - Knocking The Skill Level


Label: Headhunter
Year: 1995

Recorded in Washington DC with Geoff Turner, and mixed in San Diego by Mark Trombino (Drive Like Jehu)....and that's pretty much the whole story. What else do you need? D.C. styled guitar rock meets San Diego styled guitar rock, turns out that equals Chapel Hill styled guitar rock, although Garden Variety were from New Jersey no the Cacka.
It's upbeat, slightly noisy, slightly poppy, good time music. Nothing more, nothing less. It holds up very well after 14 years, and that's more than you can say for most records. If you ever find yourself listening to Superchunk, Jawbox, Drive Like Jehu, or Seaweed, then you'll most likely find something to latch onto in Garden Variety
Members went on to be in Radio 4, Retisonic, Bluetip, and Vic Thrill.
One of these songs was on a split with Hell No, and one was on a split with Chune. FYI.

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5 comments:

  1. cdbApril 9, 2009 at 9:26 AM

    This is a great record, and if you've got their other one, please post it. I had it back in the day but it got sucked into the aether at some point, never to be rediscovered.

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  2. julius orangeApril 9, 2009 at 1:50 PM

    this album is amazing. aside from the weird little "jazz" interlude toward the end, it is awesome start to finish. a shame they didn't really get more popular.

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  3. garrettApril 10, 2009 at 4:46 PM

    this is great - thanks!

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  4. IsmaelApril 11, 2009 at 10:55 PM

    Oh man, great post! What a band. Thanks for the review- would have never found this without it.

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  5. Scott WyMarch 7, 2011 at 1:14 PM

    they were from valley stream, long island, NY...they were amazing. i have them doing a live mini-set and live interview with jeannine garafalo of all people. if anybody wants it, please leave comment.

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