There’s a great balanced presence about Manchester’s Garden Party and their debut single Tomorrow. It has one of those innocent melodic intros that slowly wields its way into your consciousness before pouncing in with the vocals. If Tomorrow was looking for a date, it would be one smooth operator.
With a debut single release, I always think it’s like a diving competition. You are a rookie diver, so your first dive is early before the hall has filled up. You have a choice for your dive. Do you go for the safe dive you can nail but where it’s going to be difficult to show much individuality and flair. Do that and you risk the judges having more interest in trying to open their free bag of fruit and nut rather than you. Or, do you stretch yourself to make a mark, but risk hitting the water inelegantly, bum first, and where you have to race to the showers to mask the tears running down your face? Tough choices eh?
Tomorrow holds my interest and it feels to me a bit like Catfish meets Pink Floyd. This is fresh and crisp Progressive Rock Indie at its finest. Those Garden Party Manchester lads have jumped off the dive board while tottering on a precariously balanced step ladder…. and only just bloody nailed the twist and the water entry too. There’s no red arses here.
The song lyrics reminds me of those awkward moments where you are so entwined with someone, but while you are absolutely loving the elation (and there’s a beautifully soaring ending to this tune which totally makes the song) there’s that wondering if they are as loving the moment as much as you. The track goes on to reveal that our couple are at the end of the road. Sometimes it doesn’t matter what you do, that feeling is just doomed. The desperate vocals of Liam cuts to the quick: “How many chances will I get to ask this? Where’s your head at?” “Won’t you stay and see how you feel tomorrow?
For a single, Tomorrow is a long song at over 5 minutes which gives the listener chance to really study the guitar leads and the melody. With Tomorrow, Garden Party just stare back, grin and don’t blink. Pretty darn perfect this.
Chris R
* Images snaffled from the band’s social media
Old Man Blues 