Northampton alt-rock quartet Garden follow up their 2017 debut EP with new single ‘Hate Me’, which you can hear below. Here’s some background on the band and song, courtesy of a quick chat with singer/guitarist Cam Pike.
How/why/when did you guys get together?
We first got together in sixth form as we were all friends and discovered we all liked similar music and so we naturally started writing together.
For those who don’t know Garden, how would you describe your sound? Any major influences you want to share?
We find it difficult to pin ourselves down in a single genre as we are influenced by such a wide range of music and styles such as Wolf Alice, Alex Ebert and Band of Skulls. Although we would describe ourselves as fairly undefinable the genre we often get referred to as would be alternative rock.
What has the reaction to the ‘City People Are Weird’ EP been like?
The reaction has been really humbling. We’ve seen a lot of support in our home town especially, with every song being played on BBC Introducing Northampton and ‘We Need Guns’ receiving Track of the Week. For us it’s been a great experience to actually release our music, as the writing and recording process is so important to us.
Tell us about ‘Hate Me’.
‘Hate Me’ was recorded at The Lodge in Northampton, the same place that we recorded our EP. It was something we realised we wanted to be our next release whilst recording City People Are Weird. We all believe in it and felt it was the right next step.
‘Hate Me’ has some strong words. Is writing a song like that a cathartic process for you?
Yes it really is, the lyrics are very important to us as the issues and feelings in the lyrics are all real and something personal to me, and so it is important to express that. The process of writing a song as a band has become very therapeutic for us, it’s a distinct part of who we are and it’s amazing to be able to share that with your best friends.
You have a great live following. What do you think makes people keep coming back to see you?
We can’t say for sure what keeps people coming back but we hope it’s because people see the human in us, but we guess our live following comes down to our indescribable sound and the fact that it’s probably better to watch four friends doing what they love together. Also, it must be funny to watch something different go wrong every time we play.
What was the last album you bought/streamed?
Cam – Lil Peep ‘Come Over When You’re Sober’
Jake – Whitney ‘Light Upon The Lake’
Tom – Of Monsters and Men ‘Beneath The Skin’
Will – Wolf Alice ‘Visions Of A Life’
What plans do you have for the rest of the year?
Another single, another EP, and lots of touring.
