As reality grows more jarring, a dreamy haze of indie-rock can make it feel a little easier to bear. Teasing their return after over a decade, Liverpool-based band Secret Garden Gathering re-emerges with quiet force. On this 4th of July, they unveil Is-Y-Deri, a five-song offering named for the Welsh phrase meaning Beneath the Oak. Closing the EP is the complexly intimate live track,‘ You Are the Darkness After My Dawn (Live)’. In life, few things are more terrifying than realizing that the bad dream wasn’t just a dream but a reality. ‘You are the Darkness after my Dawn (Live)’ by Secret Garden Gahering explores hope as a myth we often cling to while accepting reality.
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Recorded Live inside a secluded Welsh cottage nestled in the mountains during a harsh winter, the setting lends the track a raw, uncanny edge. Lorna’s whimsical vocals, the band’s immaculate songwriting, and their distinct blend of dreamy indie and soft rock make this track a masterpiece. “There’s a hollowness deep in my side, cuts like a knife. ‘Oh, come to me.’ Sing the sirens in their melody.” The song invites you inside the void that slashes, yet where the warning bells strangely soothe. The production reminds me of a subtle kinship with another band born on a different continent at the same time, with a similar spirit—Cigarettes After Sex. Leaves me sans doute that, had Secret Garden Gathering continued their journey uninterrupted, they’d be moving in parallel with CAS today, expanding their already-devoted cult following.
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