Green Gardens – ‘This Is Not Your Fault’ album review: a wonderfully cathartic debut
Over the past few years, Green Gardens have built a strong reputation as one of the Leeds music scene’s most beloved acts. Now, they’re ready to share their long-awaited debut album, This Is Not Your Fault, an impressive exploration of grief, guilt and acceptance.
The short opening number, ‘Intro’, sets the tone with its faraway pulsating rhythms, which appear to be coming from another room, somewhere out of reach. Thus, before the album delves into emotionally complex lyrical territory, ‘Intro’ marks this initial moment of distance and a lack of clarity, which the band soon deconstruct through their contemplative words.
Subsequently, we are launched into ‘This Is My Fault’, where vocalist Jacob Cracknell takes the helm to lay out the queasy feelings of inadequacy, singing, “I am just a coward in your long embrace”. Rather than turning listeners off with melancholic chants of “Oh Death, Death, Death,” Green Gardens invite us to embrace these feelings with them, offering up a blanket of fuzzy guitars and comforting harmonies, assisted by the band’s other vocalist, Chris Aitchison.
On the following track, ‘Things I Didn’t Do’, Aitchison leads the way as he reckons with the immense guilt that comes with losing a loved one. It’s one of the album’s most poignant moments, with the vocalist and guitarist stating, “It’s the closest to outward aggression that we get on the record”. Alongside Aitchison’s distinctive vocals, the song is also propelled by enveloping saxophones, adding even greater emotional weight.
While the album deals with emotions that often leave us feeling isolated and alone, especially grief, the carefully layered instrumentation and delicate vocal refrains give the record an intimate, communal feel. Therefore, as the band delve into heavy topics, hopefulness lingers – there’s a light leaking through – creating a cathartic and reassuring listening experience. This is demonstrated well on the magnificent ‘Akin to Sap’, which is buoyed by the band’s beautiful collective harmonies.
With every song, Green Gardens allow themselves to sink into their emotions with honest vulnerability, making the record such a special debut. ‘Bellyful’ is another standout, with animal imagery taking precedence as Cracknell sings, “In the beginning, I was a snake/ A worm trying, dashing/ Across the concrete/ On my bellyful of bile”. The album is heavily rooted in the natural world, connecting us to our innate beginnings and emphasising the universality of the emotions explored.
Elsewhere, Green Gardens aren’t afraid to experiment with longer songs, such as ‘Homeshredder’, which features tender guitar playing, rousing, upbeat drums and stirring saxophones which offer a glimpse of optimism. You can’t help but find a reassuring sense of comfort within the cosy soundscape, which plays out with building instrumentation.
However, Green Gardens wrap everything together with the impressive closer, ‘This Is Your Not Your Fault’, contrasting the opening of the album. The band come to terms with the myriad of emotions that paint the record, accepting them as an inevitable, albeit painful, part of life. Aitchison pushes his voice to capacity as the song picks up the pace, driving it towards a final emotional outburst that will undoubtedly stop listeners in their tracks.
Green Gardens have delivered a spectacular debut which feels wholly their own. The four-piece indulges in raw vulnerability, accompanying their lyrical journey with instrumentation that moves between melancholy and hopefulness, creating a stunning dichotomy that revels in life’s complexities.
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