Gardens & Villa is the project of five college friends from Santa Barbara, formed following the collapse of a noisier post-punk band and a hitch-hiking journey up the west coast. Members Chris Lynch, Adam Rasmussen, Levi Hayden, Shane McKillop began playing in earnest as Gardens & Villa in 2008. The name is pulled from the location of their house on Villa Street, and the property’s lovely garden to which they tend.
The music they make is very much connected to coastal city they call home – the stoney bike rides, dance parties, a scene free of judgment. The band refers to this Santa Barbara feeling as “coco vibes.” For two weeks in the summer of 2010, the band camped behind visionary and now-labelmate Richard Swift’s Oregon studio. No shower, no kitchen, but all the magic you could ask for. After taking a band oath to always play all parts live – à la Talking Heads’ ‘Stop Making Sense’ – the band added member Dusty Ineman to supremely execute their intent.
They have announced they’ll play eight UK dates in November as part of a wider European tour (full itinerary below). Released this summer, the Santa Barbara quintet’s eponymous debut has also yielded a second eye-catching video in the shape of David South’s dimension-blurring clip for ‘Spacetime’:
While passing through Austin recently the band hit it off with studio-bound GAYNGS leader Ryan Olson, who has reworked G&V slow jam ‘Orange Blossom’ in his own inimitable style:
[audio:http://www.scjag.com/mp3/sc/orangeblossomgayngs.mp3]Download MP3
“Gardens & Villa’s neat debut mixes ’80s synth-pop with ’90s shoegazing, as viewed through a hip 2011 US indie lens.” – UNCUT
TOUR DATES
:
October 19 Rennes, FR – Les Inrocks Tour @ Ubu
October 20 La Roche Sur Yon, FR – Les Inrocks Tour @ Fusion
October 21 Paris, FR – Les Inrocks Tour @ Fleche D’Or w/ Das Pop, Sarah Blasko, The Chase
October 22 Annecy, FR – Les Inrocks Tour @ Brise Glace
October 25 Yverdon, CH – Amalgame
October 26 Luzern, CH – Sudpol
October 27 Erfurt, DE – Franz Mehlose
October 29 Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso (upstairs)
October 30 Groningen, NL – Vera
October 31 Brussels, BE – AB Club
November 01 Nijmegen, NL – Merleyn
November 03 London, UK – Lexington
November 04 Brighton, UK – The Hope
November 05 Bristol, UK – Upstairs @ Thekla
November 06 Glasgow, UK – Captain’s Rest
November 07 Liverpool, UK – MOJO
November 09 Birmingham, UK – Hare & Hounds 2
November 10 Manchester, UK – The Ritz w/ Stephen Malkmus, Girls
November 11 Dublin, IE – Whelans
November 12 Leeds, UK – Constellations Festival
November 16 Stockholm, SE – Debaser Slussen
November 18 Copenhagen, DK – KB18
November 19 Berlin, DE – West Germany
November 22 Turin, IT – Loser Club
November 23 Ravenna, IT – Bronson
November 25 Barcelona, SP – Primavera Club
November 26 Madrid, SP – Primavera Club
Gardens & Villa is released on Secretly Canadian
