Love, The Italian Way...

Ivy Garden Of The Desert - Blood Is Love (2012)

Another brand spanking new release for you lovely people today!

Diego from the band was kind enough to post me a good old fashioned hard copy promo last month and to be honest, it's barely left my car stereo since. Although having it for over a month I'm only just knocking up a review to put on here because it's only shortly (like over the next week or so) going to be available to you lot. Plus being that most of you worship the weed, if I had put this up back in April you'd have all forgotten about it by now. None the less, as you're all compus mentis now (well some of you at least) you should go check with Nasoni Records, who are once again doing these chaps a solid and cranking out some lovely copies of the album on vinyl. As is there style, expect a very limited few to be pressed on coloured wax. Keep an eye out because theses always fly off the shelves!

Right, on with the album itself. For those of you who caught the guys fantastic first release (those who didn't can here - Docile) you'll be glad to here that the intense and excellent production has not faltered in the slightest. But this time it all takes a somewhat darker and more ominous tone. The same desert esque and ever so slightly industrial style is joined with considerably more in the vocal department this time around and still sounding very much like a young Eddie Vedder which once again fits utterly perfectly. But even with the slightly doomier aspect the album doesn't fail to evoke and huge chugging riff after riff washes over each track enthusing a subtle 90's rock feel with modern day stoner thundering. It's true to say the guys have really found and nailed their sound here. Cutting a neich between brilliantly executed post metal and a latter day classic rock. The little additions and hints of psych, prog and desert rock just add whats clearly a winning formula.

We can't put anything up for download off this at the moment but while you're waiting, and if you haven't already go check out their first cracking release Docile (320kbps). Slightly more on the mellow side, y'all should still love it.

For Fans Of; Pelican, Pearl Jam, Astra, Tool, Unida

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A Dream Like State...

Ivy Garden Of The Desert - Docile (2011)

Diego from the band himself hit me up with this little gem, and damn I'm happy he did!
Hailing from Italy this post rock trio instantly make it clear that they have mastered the art of producing churning soundscapes. Thats no mean feat either. Trying to keep the listener hooked with predominently  instrumental tracks for nigh on 40 minutes is not as easy as it may seem. Few up and coming bands often fail to hit the nail on the head. Luckily Ivy Garden Of The Desert are not one of those bands.
Starting of at a mellow pace the album almost lulls you into a false sense of security, the slow beat and gentle guitars yearn of an early Yawning Man kind of feel. But once you hit you hit the 3:30 minute mark the tide turns and the tempo picks up. Now this is often where many bands mess up, trying to hit you with a barrage of unpredictable riffs and up beat drums that either just don't quite cut the mustard or sound massively out of place. Not here though. The build up is perfectly timed and executed.
In terms of vocals, the album is a little sparse, but not in a bad way. You don't here a voice for way past the first 10 minutes of the record but when you do it works and fits in well. Sounding somewhat Eddie Vedder-ish, you can easily tell as much time has gone into telling a story through the music as it has with the lyrics, quite a rare quality these days really. The contrast between the two sections is ideally balanced too, this is in no small part down to Diego's fantastic vocal tone that treads a fine line between moving and haunting, complimenting every other aspect of the album and bringing it all together. It swims through a variety of genres too, taking a little something away each time. You can quite easily pick out elements of psych, blues, doom, drone, classic prog and desert rock throughout the whole record almost like they're all patch worked together. Yet despite this nothing seems to throw the album of course. Kudos!

This is quality little release from a band that clearly have bucket loads of potential. Whats more, its also available through our friends Nasoni Records on lovely vinyl, though limited to just 500 copies. Im getting mine, you should too!

~ Jay

For Fans Of; Giants, Pelican, Crippled Black Phoenix, Red Sparowes, iO

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Docile (320kbps)