Irving 'Death in the Garden Blood on the Flowers' album

With all five members of Irving serving dual roles as singer/songwriters and instrumentalists, their records sound like a favorite mix tape. However, Irving is undoubtedly a collective, compiling albums of charmingly sunny, super-catchy tunes again and again.

Irving establishes their innovative approach on Death in the Garden, Blood on the Flowers with the first track, the dreamy and swaggering "The Gentle Preservation of Children’s Minds." Three songs in, Irving channels a plaintive Robert Smith on "Jen, Nothing Matters to Me," transitioning mood, texture and writer effortlessly. "Lovely, Just Like Her," another melodically crafty gem, appears toward the album’s end, as Irving further solidifies its knack for cohesive variety.

Since the release of 2002’s entrancing Good Morning Beautiful and 2003’s mighty little EP I Hope You’re Feeling Better Now, Irving has performed alongside such notables as Franz Ferdinand, Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, and the Polyphonic Spree. Their stagemates and production/engineering team (Phil Ek - The Shins, Modest Mouse; Aaron Espinoza - Earlimart; Jim Fairchild - Grandaddy) indicates what to expect from Death in the Garden, Blood on the Flowers. They are planning three major U.S. tours in 2006, with the following dates as a preview of what’s to come.

Biography

After a well-received debut album and critically acclaimed follow-up EP, the band Irving now realizes its full potential with Death In The Garden, Blood On The Flowers. An album of inspired variety and stirring depth, Death In The Garden casts Irving among the strongest rock bands performing today.

Formed initially by members Alex Church (bass), Steven Scott (guitar) and Brian Canning (guitar), Irving began as a thrown-together rock outfit to accompany a friend’s art opening. Within a month, Brent Turner (drums) joined, and the group began working in earnest on the songs that would eventually appear on its first album, Good Morning Beautiful. The release of GMB in 2002 showcased the band’s penchant for writing witty pop songs with whimsical backup vocals and upbeat melodies.

By the year’s end, Aaron Burrows (keyboards) signed on, and the band was back in the studio. The I Hope You’re Feeling Better Now EP, released in 2003 to critical acclaim, exhibited Irving’s unrelenting willingness to experiment with pop song structures, and highlighted the innate strengths of a band in which all five members are songwriters.

In the two years since the release of the EP, Irving has opened for such notables as Franz Ferdinand, Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, Polyphonic Spree. The band’s songwriting has also taken a noticeably more thoughtful turn. While the innate pop sensibilities continue to stand out above all else, Irving’s songwriting has matured–the sounds and structures more intricate, the subject matter more thoroughly realized.

Death In The Garden, Blood On The Flowers is the result of five musicians and their distinct influences, bound by an uncanny knack for melody and harmony. With production and engineering help from Phil Ek (The Shins, Modest Mouse), as well as Aaron Espinoza (Earlimart) and Jim Fairchild (from Grandaddy), Irving corrals its many distinct influences into a clear vision. From the oblique percussive start of the title track, to the psych-pop chaos of "Situation" to the so-bizarre-it-works background breathing on "I Want To Love You In My Room," the band pulls unforgettable hooks out of the most unlikely places.

With a year's worth of touring planned throughout 2006, including performances at SXSW and the customary summer festivals, the band is determined to spread the news far and wide.

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Irving - Death in the Garden Blood on the Flowers