Irving Death in the Garden, Blood on the Flowers by: Helen Stasa Mon:10-Sep-07 Label: Eenie Meenie Year: 2006 WB rating 75 out of 100

Death In The Garden, Blood On The Flowers is the second full-length album from L.A.-based five piece Irving. Until now Irving have remained largely unknown, failing to register a blip on most music fans’ radars. The reason for this relative anonymity is not entirely clear.

First, both their debut album, Good Morning Beautiful (2002) and follow up E.P., I Hope You’re Feeling Better Now (2003), were above average releases, filled with creative, guitar driven music. Second, between 2003 and 2007, Irving secured support slots for a number of well-known acts, including Franz Ferdinand, Arcade Fire and Polyphonic Spree. Yet despite all this exposure they have gained little attention. This is a shame, because much of the band’s work is just as good, if not better, than the output of more established acts.

It is clear that Irving have been strongly influenced by a number of important British bands. The most obvious comparison being Franz Ferdinand’s catchy, riff based pop. This is clearly apparent on ‘She’s Not Shy’, one of the standout tracks on Death In The Garden, Blood On The Flowers, with the guitar line, vocals and structure bearing eerie similarities to ‘The Dark of the Matinee’ off Franz Ferdinand’s (2004) self-titled release. ‘I’ll Write the Song, You Sing for Me’ also draws heavily on Franz Ferdinand, most specifically, Alex Kapranos’ vocal style.

Irving’s second major influence is The Beatles. For instance, the lyrics of the title track (“Pretend now that you are me/I am you/and we are we”) obviously evoke ‘I Am The Walrus’ (“I am he/ as you are he/as you are me/and we are all together”) from the Magical Mystery Tour album (1967). Similarly, the melody of ‘Situation’, with its beautiful harmonies and fuzzy guitar, is reminiscent of ‘Daytripper’. And ‘This Life is a Lonely Place’ could easily be a Lennon/McCartney composition, with its focus on everyday lyrical detail and melancholic air.

What sets Death In The Garden, Blood On The Flowers apart from these other artists is the strength of the band’s songwriting, or, more precisely, Irving’s ability to write simple, catchy pop tunes. One of the most infectious tracks on the album is ‘She’s Not Shy’. The verse underpinned by a driving electric guitar riff, complemented by clever keyboards and percussion, and gorgeous lyrics like “I don’t really love you again/I was just being lonely by myself.” ‘I Want To Love You In My Room’ is a somewhat cheesy, but nonetheless charming, track. While the lyrics sound picked from a love struck teenager’s journal (“I wanna love you in my room/I wanna take off all your clothes”), the slightly sleazy effect is heightened by the use of percussive breathing, with loud inhaling and exhaling replacing more regular instrumentation. Yet despite the odd sound effects and the adolescent lyrics, the song has a great degree of charm, and is certainly one of the more memorable on the album.

The major weakness of the album is its superficiality. Whilst Death In The Garden, Blood On The Flowers is undeniably catchy pop, if often fails to emotionally engaging. This is especially obvious on tracks such as ‘Situation’, with its chorus of “There’s so many things that I’d rather do/than to argue with you”, it sounds flat and apathetic. And although the songs are immediately appealing, they fail to reveal the extra layers that guarantee repeat listens.

Nonetheless, Death In The Garden, Blood On The Flowers is definitely worth a listen, if only to convince yourself that it is indeed possible for an L.A. band like Irving to produce a very British sounding album.