With all five members of Irving serving dual roles as singer/songwriter and instrumentalist, their records sound like a favorite mix tape. However, Irving is undoubtedly a collective, compiling albums of charmingly sunny, super-catchy tunes again and again.
Irving establishes their innovative approach on Death In The Garden, Blood On The Flowers with the first track, the dreamy and swaggering “The Gentle Preservation of Children’s Minds.” Three songs in, Irving channels a plaintive Robert Smith on “Jen, Nothing Matters to Me,” transitioning mood, texture and writer effortlessly. “Lovely, Just Like Her,” another melodically crafty gem, appears toward the album’s end, as Irving further solidifies its knack for cohesive variety.
Since the release of 2002’s entrancing
Good Morning Beautiful and 2003’s mighty little EP I Hope You’re Feeling Better Now, Irving has performed alongside such notables as Franz Ferdinand, Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, and the Polyphonic Spree. Their stagemates and production/engineering team (Phil Ek - The Shins, Modest Mouse; Aaron Espinoza - Earlimart; Jim Fairchild - Grandaddy) indicates what to expect from Death in the Garden, Blood on the Flowers. They are planning three major U.S. tours in 2006, with the following dates as a preview of what’s to come.
Check out a video clip for "Situation" at this location. Also available online are audio clips for "Jen, Nothing Matters To Me" (mp3) and "Situation" (mp3), as well as the E-Card.
Irving tour dates are as follows:
03/12 - San Diego, CA - Casbah
03/13 - Tucson, AZ - Plush
03/15 - Austin, TX - Velvet Spade Patio eenie meenie/ LOOKOUT! Showcase SXSW
03/17 - Austin, TX - Moonshine Spaceland party SXSW
03/18 - Austin, TX - Mother Egan SXSW
03/29 - Los Angeles, CA - King King CD release show
04/01 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby COurt
04/02 - Denver, CO - Hi Dive
04/07 - Harrisonburg, VA - MACRock w/ Voxtrot
04/09 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge w/ Voxtrot
04/10 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge w/ Voxtrot
04/11 - Wellesley, MA - LuLu Wang w/ Voxtrot
04/12 - Montreal, QC - La Sala Rossa w/ Voxtrot
04/13 - Toronto, ONT - Sneaky Dees w/ Voxtrot
04/14 - Detroit, MI - Lager House w/ Voxtrot
04/15 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
04/20 - Norman, OK - Opolis
04/21 - Denton, TX - Hailey's
04/22 - Austin, TX - Emo's w/ Voxtrot
