The Garment District is the psych-folk outfit of multi-instrumentalist and indie-scene experimentalist Jennifer Baron, a founding member of Brookyln’s cherished The Ladybug Transistor. Flowers Telegraphed to All Parts of The World is their second full-length album and first for Athens-based Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records. The band’s namesake is very indicative of the sounds contained therein. Like the variety of fabric one may find in any city’s garment district, Flowers Telegraphed to All Parts of the World is chock full of brilliant tapestries and wildly-colored layers that intertwine in sounds that are informed by the past yet feel contemporary, even progressive.
The record was mostly recorded at a friend’s home studio nestled in the Kanawha Section of the Allegheny Mountains in Western Pennsylvania during the time gap associated with the pandemic. For principle songwriter Jennifer Baron (who plays numerous instruments on the album), settling in at David Klug’s studio atop Pittsburgh’s Mount Washington allowed her to stretch and challenge herself, creating expansive arrangements. Like her grandfather’s reliance on family to create music, Jennifer continues to work with her cousin Lucy Blehar (lead vocals), as a way of carrying on this family music-making tradition.
Similar to a couturier’s selection, Flowers Telegraphed to All Parts of the World features typical instrumentation of guitar, bass, and drums that are enhanced by a full suite of strings, horns, and a variety of percussion topped with intricately-layered keyboards and vocals. Tracks such as the lead-off “Left on Coast” slow burns and builds into a danceable romp a la The Dandy Warhols with lovely psychedelic breaks. Uptempo numbers like “A Street Called Finland” and “The Starfish Song” entice listeners with a radio-friendly accessibility that highlight Jennifer’s use of interesting song treatments courtesy of her collection of analog keyboards and equipment borrowed from friends, like a rare 1970s Roland Paraphonic 505 and a 1960s UMI Buzz Tone Volume Expander that will also keep elephant 6 enthusiasts clamoring for more.
In addition to being a founding member of The Ladybug Transistor, Jennifer’s credentials include having worked with English musician Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3, Spectrum) and Jowe Head (Swell Maps, Television Personalities). The Garment District brings Baron’s extended musical circle to the fore by featuring Gary Olson (The Ladybug Transistor), Kyle Forester (Crystal Stilts), and Shivika Asthana (Papas Fritas). Adding to the sonic depth are contributions from Jennifer’s close collective of musicians, including Dan Koshute, Corry Drake, Sean Finn and Alex Korshin.
The diversity of this record cannot be understated. The Island of Stability offers a whimsical face to the record with its fuzz guitar, boy/girl vocals and trippy keyboards. The imagination behind tracks like Seldom Search Arch and its layers of different keys offer an insight into Baron’s evolution on song structure from her days with The Ladybug Transistor. With nods to Broadcast’s more mysterious sound, Moon Pale and Moon Gold creates a soundscape for cousin Blehar’s vocals to reverberate around like she is alone in a remote canyon.
Baron’s respect for psychedelic pop and garage rock made more apparent by the album’s homage to The Human Expression by covering their “Following Me”, which replaces the 1967 male vocal with a female voice, expands the arrangement and adds a Girls in the Garage familiarity. With a record so inspired, The Garment District will restore your faith in indie pop.
For more information or to purchase, please visit:
Website
Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records
Bandcamp
