Liverpool outfit Secret Garden Gathering gigged with the likes of Jane Weaver and Lanterns on the Lake. They disappeared for a few years and have now returned with a new EP. Is-Y-Deri has a folk-y title, but the music within is more complex.
"Fallen Leaves" has male/female vocals trading off lead duties atop a surging guitar riff. There's a hint of early Delgados here, or even mid-period Jesus and Mary Chain due to the heavy reverb on the male vocals. A spry guitar solo takes this across the finish line. Elsewhere, "Hiding Out" serves up another winner that blends dark undercurrents with light hooks.
Secret Garden Gathering sound like a band that should be on a label like Bella Union, given their sonic similarity to Lanterns on the Lake, Penelope Isles, etc. There's something both modern and wonderfully old-fashioned about this EP recorded in Wales. The tunes have the sort of appeal that makes me think of that wave in the UK that gave us I Am Kloot, Clearlake, and the like, with bands like those and even more mainstream outfits like Catatonia reaching listeners through a mix of the traditional and new. Secret Garden Gathering are doing a similar thing and I hope they put out more music soon.
Is-Y-Deri by Secret Garden Gathering is out now. Details below.
[Photo: Secret Garden Gathering]