THE TEAR GARDEN

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Release date and tracklist

Oct 1, 1996
CA CD Nettwerk W2-30107

1. Ascension Day – [MP3]
2. We The People – [MP3]
3. In Search Of My Rose – [MP3]
4. Crying From Outside – [MP3]
5. Psycho 9 – [MP3]
6. With Wings – [MP3]
7. Judgment Hour – [MP3]
8. New Eden – [MP3]
9. Tasteless – [MP3]
10. Cyberspider – [MP3]
11. Malice Through The Looking Glass – [MP3]
12. Phoenix – [MP3]
13. The Habit – [MP3]

September 22, 2020
NL MP3 self-released on Bandcamp

Credits

• Edward Ka-Spel
• Cevin Key
• The Silver Man (Phil Knight)
• Ryan Moore
• Martijn de Kleer
• De Green Guy
• Niels Van Hoornblower
• Anthony Valcic – production

Notes

The word CRIPPLED in the title was supposed to be CRIPPLE (i.e. no “D” on the end), but it was added by mistake somewhere in the production of the release.

2020 Bandcamp notes:
“To Be An Angel Blind” is probably the most melancholy offering from The Tear Garden. It all began in a hotel room in Mexico City with Martijn De Kleer and Edward Ka-Spel pulling “Ascension Day” out of the ether, and the story continued with daily (lengthy) improvisations in the studio in Vancouver. These workouts would be edited by Anthony Valcic who was a bonafide member of the group for this one. Sweet sorrow, and the title has been corrected for this web release.

Press Release

The roots of The Tear Garden extend back to 1983 when Cevin Key, on the verge of forming Skinny Puppy, struck up a trans-Atlantic correspondence with Edward Ka-Spel, the lead vocalist and driving force behind The Legendary Pink Dots. Three years later, Ka-Spel visited Vancouver for a series of three live performances with Key as sound technician, and during his visit, they recorded The Tear Garden’s self-titled debut EP.

In 1987, Ka-Spel returned to open for Skinny Puppy on their North American tour, after which the duo retreated to the studio for two weeks to produce the now classic electronic-psychedelic album, Tired Eyes Slowly Burning. It was during these sessions that the project’s ranks began to expand, with guest appearances by Key’s fellow Puppies Dwayne Goettel and Nivek Ogre.

Four years later, the Garden bloomed again, this time growing well beyond the Key/Ka-Spel partnership to include not only Goettel, but a wide assortment of friends, including most of the Pink Dots. This fruitful month-long collaboration spawned two releases: an album called The Last Man To Fly, and a (very long) EP called Sheila Liked The Rodeo.

Another four years passed. Four years that saw literal and figurative deaths (the departure of both Skinny Puppy and LPD from their long-time labels; the subsequent break-up of SP; the tragic passing of Dwayne Goettel) and births (Edward’s son, Calyxx; Download; Key’s return to Nettwerk).

In late December, 1995, in the midst of this turbulence, The Tear Garden gathered once more, perhaps to attempt to trigger the dawn of a tranquil new era. The result was To Be An Angel Blind, The Crippled Soul Divide, an album of fragile and powerful beauty that digs even deeper into the psychedelic underground than its predecessors, adding a range of influences from dub bass to country slide guitar, all the while retaining the dark electronic melancholy that has become the project’s signature.

Reviews

Over the past 13 years, the Tear Garden has served as a kind of inspirational distraction for Skinny Puppy’s cEvin Key and the Legendary Pink Dots’ Edward Ka-Spel, indulging their interests in melding dark psychedelia, folk and industrial electronics in an open-ended, loosely experimental setting.

To Be An Angel Blind, the first Tear Garden recording since Skinny Puppy’s turbulent demise, initially seems more interested in quieter, reflective songscapes than anything remotely industrial, Ka-Spel’s thickly English vocals coming off as a kind of gothic Syd Barrett when paired with some delicately picked acoustic guitar and flute (the leadoff `Ascension Day”). As the album progresses, however, this spooky minimalism gives way to slight, jarring bits of synth and drum effects, layering Ka-Spel’s moody vocals with electronic strokes of melancholy. By the 10th track, “Cyberspider,” things have gotten much heavier and even more interesting, navigating thudding live drum rhythms, gnarled fragments of white noise and light, eerie synth melodies.

Taken in its 70-minute whole, To Be An Angel Blind boasts the kind of progressive album-making pioneered by `70s outfits like Pink Floyd or King Crimson, its grand scope of instrumentation and smaller, more tranquil moments begging for a larger conceptual theme (and there probably is one here). Individual song recommendations include the above-mentioned leadoff track, plus “Judgement Hour” and “Malice Through The Looking Glass.” – Colin Helms, CMJ

Lyrics

ASCENSION DAY

I tried to find some silence in this shallow space
I pushed pillows in my ears
I concealed my face
No, don’t you even try to catch my eye
It sits frozen in its place
Here it’s invitation only
I’m lonely
But I’m forced to say
That I cannot see you now

Yet everywhere I walk I’m crushing something
Because I cannot see the stairs
I’d share my sores with you over coffee
But the queue’s 1000 years
And someone stole my badge
And now I’ve lost the right to be here
Breathe the air
It’s not fair
But that’s just the way things are
And I cannot see you now

But through it all my princess holds my hand
And assures me that there’s an island
Yet untouched by human hand
We must simply keep believing
And simply keep our eyes fixed on the morning
I threw my pillows to the wind
And I waited for my wings
And you cannot see me now

WE THE PEOPLE

The revolution came and they blew it
They made a hole three centuries deep
And filled it
They swept in all the streets
All the freaks and all the finest
Now we’re wading
We’re knee-deep
And I can’t tell you what the time is
Because the clock is ten miles up
And I’m too short-sighted
But that’s life
Now there’s four of us down here
But I don’t like the other three
Except for you, dear
Let’s have a coup, dear

IN SEARCH OF MY ROSE

I found you crying outside
On the wall of Devil’s Well
A hangman’s knot around your feet
And praying for the spell
To be shattered
May I be the one
To rip those shackles clean away
And lead you to a place
Where lonliness is tackled
With a kiss

A kiss that has no ropes
No strings
No obligations
I don’t owe you
Be quite sure
You don’t owe me

CRYING FROM OUTSIDE

This beating heart is yours to break
I’m lying on your altar
Take your sacrifical knife and cut
This lamb was born to slaughter
Still I stare at you
With big brown sheepy eyes

I’d like to blow a kiss goodbye
Can you help me?
But you pulled away

So I kicked away my chains
And threw a line out to the crowd
Shouting “Pull me in, please take me in…”
I’ll try to understand
I’ll keep my questions in a can
And my hands inside my pocket
If you like you can lock it
I won’t look you in the eye

Will you help me?

But they pulled away

And now I’m floating in a box
Without a window
So I try leaning on the wall
But it crumbles
So I stumble to the floor
But it liquifies
Transforms itself into nothing
I want nothing
Is that so very much to ask?

But she pulls away

PSYCHO 9

I took my customary stroll
In the mid-day sun
Got my devil diviner
Hand on my gun
Now the game’s for you
We do it for fun
Look out!

Got this itch inside my skull
Got a clip on my wings
Now I’m seeing you peripheral
Or what’s under your skin

Got a basket full of puppets
A hatful of pins
Look out!

Some folks set up a posse
In the local estate now to cripple me
Crisp at the stake
You forgot a few believers
You made a mistake
Look out!

Now they hide inside their boxes
Not a soul on the street
Except for pizzaman
Strangers
Little old me
Look out!

WITH WINGS

The crippled soul divides
And the scars of years fly away
Like confetti on the desert wind
Phoenix rises
Proud young wings reflecting amber
Solitary
Untouchable

Excited
And ready to search for his rose
But the flight lasted so long
And those powerful wings grew weary
As he padded through blind alleys
Swooped open-eyed into blind curves
And wasted night
After lonely night
Trying to drink from a mirage

But no distraction could decimate
The totality of belief
And his number came up
Just when the weight of his despair
Had him pinned to a rock
When the feathers of his wings
Had been shed
And he stood naked
Before a disapassionate ocean of grey faces

His precious twin
His rose
Isolde dancing alone
Then multiplying
Inviting
So many many levels

And the crippled soul unites and prepares
For the long journey home

JUDGMENT HOUR

I’ve got my eyes fixed on your picture
This finger’s pressing mute
Would you shut up for a moment
I need to see the future
Seems it’s looking dim
I tried to shake you off
But still you cling
I never wear your ring
The green stain’s creeping down my finger

Wasn’t there a thing that I did
That gave you pleasure?
Wasn’t there a thing that I did
That made you laugh?

And the hangman shakes his head
Turns the hour glass and counts former wives
Former lives
Line up
Then denounce me

People it’s my party
People it’s my house
It’s me who makes the rules

If you cannot stand the heat
Leave your grudges in the hall
It’s me who makes the rules

I’m head of this table
All of you are mere projections
If I gave you false impressions
Then that’s just the way I am
What I say what I think
Are two entirely diferent things
That’s just the way I am

We should never say forever
Even when it’s what we feel
It’s what I feel, it’s what I fear
It’s what you hear
And time stands still
Until tomorrow when I’m gone
But you keep clinging on
Could that be forever?

We meet again my princess
Let’s get it right this time
Let’s make a toast
We could exorcise the ghosts

NEW EDEN

My splintered stoned Medusa
Lies in places by the mirror
Snakes alive
But I die laughing on a chair
I’m juggling apples
I feel the grass grow ’round my feet
A perfumed candle plays the breeze
That sweeps from West to East
From me to you
Out here…in New Eden

We’ve learned from our mistakes
This time around we’ll make things better
I won’t throw that stone
I’d rather send a letter
If it seems we’re being asked to leave
Then I’ll ask you for your hand
We’ll expand from West to East
From me
From you
Out here in our New Eden

TASTELESS

CYBER SPIDER

Now the ceremony’s started
And the prosecution rests
We’re lying naked on the table
I try to get you on my chest

We’re rated X
We’re live and steamy
Our performance is on line coast to coast
The tongues are hanging
Viewer discretion is advised!

But there’s something I should tell you
Cause it lurks beneath my skin
I got this creepy crawly virus
And I feel it kicking in

If I mutate into a spider
Turn away your pretty head
I’ll be polite when I’m inside you
I shall weave this brave new web

I’m in your heart now, in your fingers
Am I getting on your nerves?
Let’s give them hell
When I yell “timber”
They shall get what they deserve!

MALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

Snowblind
I can’t find my way back
Because my tracks move in spirals to me
Now I’m up to my knees
And it’s freezing
I’m sinking
I’m thinking of you
And you wave
As you fade away
Float away

Blue as December
Dismembered
These fragments are glued
To my sails
I’m impaled on a rock
Where we carved our our names

And I blew you a kiss
But I missed
And you left me like this
I fade away
Float away

PHOENIX

Hit “rewind”
You sit surrounded by a frame
Your laugh infectious
Hair in flames
Your star was lonely
But it lives
And we don’t have the time for tears

A step beyond
Deep in the corner of my eye
I swear I saw a curtain rise
I can’t be certain
It could be
That I’m just seeing what I want to see

But just who guides these hands
When they’re shaking with frustration?
When scraping in the sand
Who provides the inspiration?
And who whispers from outside
When all seems desperation
“Seize the future…”

THE HABIT

THE TEAR GARDEN

<< back to the Combined Discography

Release date and tracklist

Oct 24, 2000
CA CD Nettwerk W2-30158

1. Lament – [MP3]
2. The Double Spades Effect – [MP3]
3. Desert Island Disc – [MP3]
4. Hopeful – [MP3]
5. Castaway – [MP3]
6. Her Majesty’s Trusted Food Taster – [MP3]
7. Feathered Friends – [MP3]
8. To Mourn The Death Of Colour – [MP3]
9. Six Of One – [MP3]

September 20, 2020
NL MP3 self-released on Bandcamp

• Credits
• Edward Ka-Spel – voice, keyboards, electronics
• Cevin Key – electronics, keyboards, drums, percusssion, tapes
• Dwayne R. Goettel
• Ryan Moore – bass, keyboards (1), acoustic guitar (3)
• Niels Van Hoorn – flute (7)
• Martijn de Kleer – acoustic and electric guitar, violin
• The Silver Man- keyboards
• Frank Verschurren- engineer
• Russell Nash – scanmaster (7)
• Bill van Rooy – hand percussion (5)

artwork by Rachel K.

Notes

Initial pressings had songs 4 and 5 erroneously combined onto one index track.

2020 Bandcamp notes:
Tear Garden’s last album of the 20th Century (officially the 21st began in 2001). In reality, it’s a little patchy as recordings were spread over a long period and it perhaps lacks the cohesion of it’s 2 predecessors but there’s a few pearls to be found in that icy mountain.

Reviews

Follow, if you will, the scientific formula that makes up the element known as The Tear Garden. Elements called Hilt, Doubting Thomas and Cyberactive spontaneously burst into existence with the common Key molecule, alongside an element known as Download, made up of cEvin Key, Phil Western and Bill Van Rooy. A separate element known as The Legendary Pink Dots boils in its own beaker across the ocean in The Netherlands, but when the molecules from these two bands spill into one recording studio, the result is the Crystal Mass of The Tear Garden.

Evolving out of a creative union between Key and Pink Dot Edward Ka-Spel, Crystal Mass counts all of the Pink Dots (Ka-Spel, Ryan Moore, The Silverman, Nils Van Hoornblower and ex-member Martijn de Kleer who has since re-joined the Dots), as well as Download (Key, Western, Van Rooy) in its number. The Tear Garden has put out an album every four years for 16 years, but they always “seem to have a shortage of time,” says Key, in making each album. Not this time. “Edward gave me the go-ahead in June of ’98 to start this album,” says Key, and it didn’t get finished for a year and a half. It’s one of these long-distance relationships; it’s like a long-distance phone call every day that you try to accomplish your life with.”

“We recorded it in so many different bits and pieces and parts,” he continues. “Ryan, the bass player from the Pink Dots, first came over [to America] for about a month and a half, then there was a break. The engineer from the Pink Dots, Frank Verschuuren, came over, then Edward came over for three days and we laid down some vocals. Then I went over to Holland for three weeks, recorded some stuff there, came back and mixed and assembled all the pieces from all those times a year and a half later. This was the most fragmented, but we really had a fun time finishing it off.”

Working at Key’s Los Angeles-based subConscious Studios, as well as Van Hoornblower’s Studio Klaverland on a beautiful nature reserve in Holland, The Tear Garden has created an odd pairing of acoustic and electronic textures in Crystal Mass. “The Tear Garden is usually our acoustic influences coming out,” Key posits. “All of us were really into Pink Floyd and all sorts of psychedelia. When you’re not using drum machines and synthesizers, you tend to stroll into these regions. We were inspired by Can, Faust, all sorts of early German bands, but most of the latest Tear Garden stuff has been fairly acoustic. In the beginning, we did more electronic stuff, and this is a blend of the beginning, a return to the electronic world.”

With songs oscillating from 3 1/2 to 12 1/2 minutes long, Crystal Mass shifts from pure pop (the ’70s-sounding, toe-tapping “Where You Gonna Go?”) to moody, dark worldbeat tracks (“Juiklo”) and back again, much like the constant vocal shift from deep, growling, spoken lines to high-range melodic, sung verses within one tune. Ka-Spel’s singing is akin to classic Psychedelic Furs, The The or David Bowie, with hook-filled, memorable melodies sounding familiar on the first listen. Yes, hooks. Crystal Mass is a natural progression for The Tear Garden, one which stands to introduce this hybrid element of musicians to an unsuspecting new audience. -source unknown

***

Though Skinny Puppy’s sonic exorcisms will always remain the high water mark of Cevin Key’s 18-year affair with fringe electronic music, the industrial deity continues to provide soundtracks for those who feed on the darker, more psychedelic sides of dance and pop. Although his current output can grow tedious, as in the case of Crystal Mass, the latest release from Key’s longtime Tear Garden project (which includes Edward Ka-Spel, Ryan Moore and other members of Holland’s Legendary Pink Dots). The album finds the collaborative pushing Key’s ominous soundscapes into the background on most cuts, relying on meandering pop melodies and Ka-Spel’s detached, passive vocals to get the mood across. Though the album’s final two cuts — “To Mourn The Death Of Color” and “Six Of One” — achieve the synergy between spooky ambient and psychedelic pop that made past Tear Garden efforts engaging, Crystal Mass limps too long on the trail of monotony before reaching its stride. Key’s remaining genius is better displayed on Effector, the fourth album from his Download outfit (this time with Phil Western). Like current sound sculptors such as Plaid, Download uses irregular beat structures, sparse melodic pulses, and eerie ambient noises that entrance with audio expressions of claustrophobia and paranoia. The Autechre-ized breakbeats on “Carrier Tone” and “Ayahuasca” slice through the amoebic washes of sound, while the hypnotizing dub groove of “Affirmed” provides a steady undercurrent for an alien melody, revealing a surprising mastery of subtlety from a musician noted for his music’s intense, undiluted emotion. – M. Tye Comer, CMJ

***

The Tear Garden’s ‘Last Man to Fly’ quite simply changed my life. It was that single album that set me on a course of music. I hold it, as well as their other work, in the highest regard. Obviously, then, I had been eagerly anticipating the new release from the band that began as a Legendary Pink Dots and Skinny Puppy collaborative effort ever since it was announced that they planned to reconvene for a new record. However, this also meant that I would be quite difficult to impress. When ranked against absolute classics, would the new work stand on its own or would it remain a pale shadow of their previous triumphs? The Tear Garden have thus far carved themselves a unique niche in music with their emotionally expressive and intimate records. This sound would be too easy to repeat and it seemed possible that the Tear Garden could find themselves in a rut with no new ground to cover. With ‘Crystal Mass’, they have not only eradicated those fears, but also contributed yet another classic record to my collection.

The album makes a bold stylistic statement from the very first note. “Lament” begins purely electronically; a departure from the previous record’s primarily acoustic sound. Though not entirely a surprise (early reports indicated a move back to electronics before the album was even recorded), this is a definite departure and, to some, a welcome return to the sounds of the first EP and album. The track quickly settles into an arpeggiated synth line reminiscent of “Ophelia” and the propelling bass line lends it an upbeat vibe not unlike “In Search of My Rose”. Rounding out the mix are some gorgeous and laid-back guitar work from Martijn de Kleer and some atmospheric synths. With this track, Edward’s voice appears to have hit a new high point. The care he gives to intonation and phrasing is unparalleled and his voice is controlled and understated. A beautiful chord progression, reminiscent of ‘Last Man to Fly’, gives “Lament” a foundation and cements the connection to the band’s earlier work.

However, the difference of approach to production and mixing which lies between Dave Ogilvie on the earlier records and cEvin on these last two (with Frank Verschuuren on ‘Crystal Mass’) is plain just from this single track. ‘Crystal Mass’ and ‘Angel’ have a much more ‘up front’ and ‘down to basics’ mix than the earlier records. Before the song’s close “Lament” surprises us with a triumphant bubbling figuration of the main synth line, ending the song on an emotionally positive note.

“The Double Spades Effect” invokes a rhythm somewhere between folk-rock and tribal drumming. Edward is again subdued as his voice floats amidst background atmospherics, loops, and tapes, recalling ‘Tired Eyes Slowly Burning’ distinctly. Martijn’s violin work is an asset to the band and his guitar experience shows as he exploits the timbre of his instrument. The band really grooves here with the bass, live percussion, and violin driving the track. Overall, this song falls well into the Tear Garden’s proven approach of ‘modern day troubadours’, but does so using new elements

The positive vibe of the first two tracks is broken by “Desert Island Disc”, which begins with an ominous and mysterious atmosphere. I can best describe the mood as driving alone down a deserted highway at night. Ka-Spel addresses the listener with images of forgotten faces from the past. An acoustic guitar plays a riff similar to that of ‘Ascension Day’ but in a melancholy context, harmonized by simultaneous electric guitar. Martijn’s electric guitar on this track is particularly lyric and expressive. The liquidy percussion is detailed and intricately produced. The more lively chorus interrupts the midnight drive like the comfort of a familiar song on the car stereo, but that hopeful quality gives way as Edward’s ironic lyrics darkly indict the listener “this is your life and it’s over.” The spooky track teases us with salvation, but returns us to its dark origins. However, this is but a mere harbinger of what is yet to come.

“Hopeful” returns the album to more familiar territory. With live acoustic drums and a progressively folky sound, this song that could easily fit on ‘To Be An Angel” Lyrically and musically the song has a palatable sense of dismissive warning, as if Edward is informing us of an oncoming doom, but half-heartedly as he knows we will not head it. “Hopeful” has infectious progression making for a successful track within the context of the album but it is the confrontational lyrics which make it a valuable contribution to the band’s canon.

“Castaway*” follows with a tribal rhythm in the style of “Tasteless”, augmented by non-western percussion instruments. The bass line illustrates cEvin and Ryan’s mutual interest in dub and reggae more than any other track. Swimming in the mix is a synth sounding a bit like ‘Music for Cats’. Edward’s filtered vocals are disarming and disturbing so shortly after the positive mood of much of the previous material. As wonderful as this track is overall, the jewel in its crown is Martijn’s guitar solo, which can only be described as searing. The percussion pulls at the solo’s rhythm and again a lot of attention is paid to the rhythm production. “Castaway” retains the disturbing mood of the previous tracks.

“Her Majesty’s Trusted Food Taster*” brings us out of the somber mood of the past few tracks with an uplifting groove carried by live drums and percussion carefully treated with a variety of effects. The electric guitar introduces the chords and when the synths respond in kind we take off. If “Desert Island Disc” was driving alone at night, “Food Taster” is the grandeur of a bird in flight beneath the warmth of the sun. The glow of this track is carried as the guitar gently wraps itself around the chords. This track is simply magnificent, however its placement between some other very dark songs robs it of its potential effect.

“Feathered Friends” begins with a noisy and hostile rhythm that builds itself out of Dwayne’s “Burnout” and what sounds like a gating effect. A gorgeous fracture of melody responds and suddenly we are thrust into a grinding rhythmic loop that establishes a very dark tone. The bass, guitar, and drums pick this up as they develop a threatening and nerve wracking groove. When Edward’s staccato almost rap-like voice enters, we know this will be unlike any other Tear Garden track we’ve ever heard. Edward’s vocal is angry and grimy, building to his dismissive refrain “it’s for the birds”. Never before has he sounded so menacing. Martijn’s electric guitar cuts into the mix, frothing with evil portents. Niels guests with his perverted and processed flute. This twist into a threateningly dark, almost violent, tone is simply one of the most shocking surprise turns I’ve ever heard an album (or project) take. In my mind it was completely unpredicted, however, looking back at the previous tracks on the album, it seems that this mood was always looming in the distance, waiting to explode here. Thus far I had felt that ‘Crystal Mass’ was quite a good Tear Garden album with enough new elements sprinkled in to be more than a mere rerun of past works. When I heard “Feathered Friends”, I realized that ‘Crystal Mass’ reached a whole new level for the band.

“To Mourn the Death of Colour” brings the bile of “Feathered Friends” to its inevitable somber conclusion. Edward’s voice is that of someone depleted from a long journey, a journey not unlike that of the listener of this disc. Edward seems to give in, saying “switch it off now, let me sleep”. Along with the slow, dramatic backing this illustrates the depths of depression. The emotional pair of this and the previous track is, I believe, one of the highlights of the Tear Garden’s overwhelmingly amazing oeuvre. The track winds down and begins to decay into an instrumental collage very reminiscent of “Last Post”.

The ending of “Colour” would seemingly be the perfect moment to end the album, but perhaps it is best not to end the record on such an emotionally low note. “Six of One” could easily have begun as a Download track, with its midtempo heavily electronic groove. The track is somewhat akin to “Empathy with the Devil”, owing mostly to Edward’s edgy vocal attitude. The danceable rhythm and layers of synths are reminiscent of the first side of ‘Tired Eyes Slowly Burning’ but the funky guitar work by Martijn and bass groove by Ryan give it a much freer feel. This is a great track which adds a biting tone to the album, but perhaps belongs elsewhere on the album. However, the main body of the track is followed by a warm, ambient segment that ends the album perfectly.

All of the band members are in top form for ‘Crystal Mass’, with highlights belonging to all. Edward’s always enrapturing voice is at a new level (as also evidenced by his recent solo album, ‘Red Letters’). Martijn’s return to an electric guitar style in the vein of ‘Last Man to Fly’ allows him to shine, as does his violin. The detailed drum and percussion production is indicative of cEvin’s best work. The only major disappointment is the unfortunately minor involvement of Niels Van Hoornblower, who was responsible for so many wonderful moments on ‘To Be an Angel’ The sequencing of the tracks seems a bit less than optimum, hampering some of the delicate transfers of emotion. While it would have been easy for the Tear Garden to record another album in the style of their past works the reemphasis of electronics and the surprise transition to a dark mood of ‘Crystal Mass’ sees them exploring a new path in their continuing musical journey. This album is simply a must for all Pink Dots, Skinny Puppy, and Tear Garden fans. Those who were more intrigued by the collaboration’s earlier electronic work than their last album will most likely be pleasantly surprised. Fans of cEvin’s work in Download may enjoy the ‘technoy’ approach to some of the more electronic tracks. I believe this album is a must-have not only for LPD and Skinny Puppy fans of all tastes, but for all smart music fans.

*It seems quite possible that in addition to the mastering error of tracks 4 and 5, the song titles for “Castaway” and “Her Majesty’s Trusted Food Taster” were reversed in the track listing. For the sake of clarity, I have used the titles as they appear on the artwork here.

– Corey Goldberg, Litany.net 2000

Lyrics

LAMENT

Merciful angel
You’ve always been there
When it all got too painful
I was mad with despair
Lying down in the ruins
Tied with wires to this chair
You’d just point to a new star
I’d follow you there
I’d follow anywhere

Follow blind ’cause I trust you
I’m willing, I’ll dare
What I don’t see won’t hurt me
I’ll follow you there
I’ll follow anywhere

Calling you now ’cause it’s worse than before
When I look to the sky I see only a door
And it’s black and it’s bolted and it’s locked from inside
So I guess things have changed, you have something to hide
You’ve something to hide

You were the way, and the truth, and the light
Thought you had all the answers
I’d follow you blind
Follow blind ’cause I trust you
I’m willing, I’ll try
What I don’t see won’t hurt me
So give me a sign
Give me a sign

THE DOUBLE SPADES EFFECT

Don’t try to bluff
I’m wearing these shades
I anticipate the moves that you make
I’m calling you now
I’m watching you sweat
I’m shaking you down
If I were your friend, well, I’d hit you now
I must stay ahead
I’m checking the scores, beginning to end
It’s you who shouts more
But me who has led
Yet you’re shouting more
We’ll come to the end, and I’ll lose this war
Oh you’ve changed the law
Yes you’ve changed the law
Less is more

DESERT ISLAND DISC

Can you recall that little boy with blood-red hair
He’d kick your chair, he’d twist your arm, he didn’t care
Did you ever wonder what became of Billy-Boy?
Wonderboy, the teacher’s pet
Come in Billy, take a seat
Let’s hear about the fun you had
This is your life
This is your life
Shake Billy’s hand, kiss Billy’s wife
This is your life
Remember George, who took it all against the wall?
As George the Frisbee, George the Ball?
He’d whistle as he’d fly
And you’d stand by and cheer the guys on
How’s your karma?
Did you ever wonder what became of Rubber George?
This is your life
This is your life
Shake Georgie’s hand, but watch his knife
This is your life
Remember Joan, you met her on the phone
That night alone you felt frustrated
Joan, the she-wolf in the shower
Always in the shower
Did you ever wonder what became of Joan the Moan?
This is your life
This is your life
Shake Joanie’s gland, kiss her wife
This is your life
And it’s over

HOPEFUL

What if the demons are dying, but fighting as they fade?
What if this last big battle is just a shadow-play?
What waits on the other side when the fear has gone away?
Was it all for nothing?
Will they stand there laughing?
Will they see you naked?
Where’re you gonna hide?
If you can see it coming you’d better be prepared
Cast your fate on the wind that’s blowing through your hair
Walk upon this fragile world like you’re walking on air
It was all for something
They will see you laughing
They will see you naked
Nothing left to hide
Fear has gone away

HER MAJESTY’S TRUSTED FOOD TASTER

This one’s frivolous, it’s laughing
Laughing loudly on my tongueI think (???) but sadly
Sadly it’s me who gets the crumbs
I shall nibble with respect, ma’am
I shall pass on all the rest, ma’am
Lick your fingers, I shall crawl, ma’am
Crawl up to you on my knees
I get the peas, I get the peel, I get the pips, I pass the rest
A lovely service, but confess
Now did you cheat while playing chess?
Rattling sabers on your breast, ma’am
This job’s okay, but has no prospects, ma’am
I get the peas, I get the peel, I get the pips, I pass the rest

CASTAWAY

Raised by wolves, abandoned,
Forced to stalk you, haunt your neighborhood
But full moon shocked, they raised their rifles
Lights of eyes on stronger
Slipped through cracks across your wall
Scrape the sand now from your souls
And eat your heart out
And it’s cold
See me – you won’t see me at your door
I’ll be howling with regret
There is no pleasure
Can’t forget the faces or the fear, the fires
See me – you won’t see me at your door

FEATHERED FRIENDS

Smoky Joe’s done firing, no use hosing the remains
Now we’ve got drunken heads and charcoal bunnies, funky frosted flakes
Now we’ve got lava lamps, the toast is coasting, blocking all the drains
And me and you wound up as effigies and made the hall of fame
We are shouting, we are shouting
We are screaming
We are screaming, ahhh
I guess there won’t be a model like those folks in old Pompeii
Like Tutankhamen, Cutthroat Canyon, Darby’s Dungeons in Marseille
With kiddies poking and provoking, scratching, fucking (out again?)
Now we are shouting, we are shoutingWe are screaming, we are screaming, ahhh …
We’re your heritage, a monument wonderfully preserved
They came to see us by the thousands but we never ever heard
Now I really need to scratch
It’s torture that these kids have gone
(And except them?) for the birds
For the birds …
I’m shouting, I’m shouting
I’m screaming, I’m screaming, for the birds

TO MOURN THE DEATH OF COLOUR

Been here long enough now, I’m fighting the effect
Through many sunsets, dancing bones, gargling architects
A night that’s old, a floor that’s floating
I’d like to make a bet
That you will drag me to your room
My bloody bride
And get me bleeding for the pill
The precious pill, so switch it off now
Switch it off now, and let me sleep
Switch it off now, I’m sick of counting sheep
Switch it off now, I’m down here on my knees, saying please
The needle is a lady, and a lady needs respect
With trembling hands, she feels uneasy, she’s liable to fret
And then to punish, then to tease
She’d strip you, shoot you in the knees
But she will never ever leave
Switch it off now, let me sleep
Switch it off now, I said I’m sick of counting sheep
Switch it off now, I’m down here on my knees
I’m saying please
Please …

SIX OF ONE

Take me to the other side
Take me on a joyride in a plastic capsule
Wash it down and wish the day away
The fear of flying’s creeping slow
Can feel that paranoia seeping through these palms
Two lifelines winding somewhere out in space
And now I’m choking in this seat, A-33
But please believe me,
It could be a throne if you were here with me
A touch is all I need
But I’m alone, your picture bleeds for me
What exactly do you see in me?
Or I in you? Or I in you?
In our dreams we can connect
In our dreams it all seems perfect
But when morning comes, there comes the dive,I’m half alive, just half alive
And I divide …I’ll shout into the chasm of your despair
Your pleas will be answered with echoes
Me, mocking, mimicking
I don’t forgive
I can’t forgive you for clinging onto my coattails
Pulling me down into clinging mudInto your pit
Into your past
Into this half-world
And if I could, I’d cast you aside
But I carry your pity
You infect me, you live inside me
Squat on my shoulders, press me down
So stand up, fight me if you dare
Be a man, divide
I said, be a man, divide

THE TEAR GARDEN

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Release date and tracklist

THE TEAR GARDEN

<< back to the Combined Discography

Release date and tracklist

2007
US CD Subconscious SUB033

1. My Brother’s Keeper
2. The Tragic Carpet
3. Alexander the Flake
4. Friendly Fire
5. The Adventures Of Spiky The Hedgehog
6. Counting Zeroes
7. 21st Century Box
8. A Gift Of Knowledge

September 22, 2020
NL MP3 self -released on Bandcamp

Credits

• Edward Ka-Spel
• Cevin Key

Notes

Recorded at Subconscious CA, Limburgia and The Mermaid’s rock.  Mixed at Red.
Limited edition of 1000. Packaged in a Digipak.

More magnificent weirdness from one of industrial music’s most inspired team-ups. With members of the Legendary Pink Dots teaming up with Skinny Puppy’s cEvin Key, The Tear Garden is one of the most unexpected yet consistently brilliant collaborations ever to hit the dark music scene, as evidenced by their rabid cult following. The lovechild of the Dots’ psychedelic eccentricities and Key’s dark electro geek stoniness is a whole new kind of weirdness, and the crew’s latest opus is as good as any of their previous offerings.

Edward Ka-Spel’s vocals are as reedy and distinctive as ever, leading the gentle pianos of “The Tragic Carpet” in ever trippier directions, and his penchant for eerie tale-telling is put to good use as well. “Friendly Fire” comes off as a death’s door conversation, with Ka-Spel dreamily responding to muffled, sampled queries, while “A Gift of Knowledge” is an extended monologue of hinted UFO conspiracies and shadowy agencies who have imprisoned the narrator for knowing too much; at first it seems like a desperate plea for contact with the outside world, but as it trails off into effects-laden ranting, Ka-Spel leaves us with the possibility that we may have been listening to the ramblings of a madman.

While Ka-Spel’s signature delivery is hard to upstage, some of the best moments on The Secret Experiment are instrumental. “The Adventures of Spiky the Hedgehog” in particular is a surprisingly evocative collection of whirrs, motors, and springy twangs that really does conjure up the image of a small, spiny creature bumbling through his daily business. That playfulness is tempered by the album’s darker, occasionally paranoid moments, but can you think of another industrial outfit that could pull off a song about a hedgehog? That mixture of guileless charm and moments of utter lunacy is what sets The Tear Garden apart from the rest. – Matthew Johnson, ReGen Magazine