New Music: Green Gardens – Stroom

With their Thistlesifting album out next month, it seems a good time to look back at Leeds outfit Green Garden’s recent single, Stroom.

Nominally lo-fi indie, Stroom is layered and full of warmth. That’s partly attributable to the aching, yearning presence the vocals bring to the song, but also to the production of Joel Johnston – aka Fra Caspian – who has a knack for simplifying the complex but also making arrangements seem quiet and intimate while their emotions sing loud.

You can hear the influence of Sparklehorse and Broken Social Scene, but Stroom – and the songs I’ve heard so far from Thistlesifting – give me the same goosebumps of excitement and despair as the pastoral desperation of Andy Partridge and XTC.

Thistlesifting is set for release on the 5th of September via Tiny Library and is now up for pre-order on Bandcamp in CD and double vinyl formats.

Green Gardens launch the album on the 6th of September at Brudenell Social Club in Leeds, followed by a UK tour in November – make your presence known on Facebook and Instagram for ticket and album updates.