Consider Natural Facts by Garcia Peoples to be your heady, friendly reminder that it’s alright to let the sunshine in. The second album in less than a year, out March 29th on Beyond Beyond is Beyond, from those lovable New Jersey moptops with the sweet twin guitars, Natural Facts provides a portal to the carefree place that both indie rock and jam bands forgot, and a handy alternative to whatever you may need an alternative from. Bolstering the summer glow of 2018’s Cosmic Cash with flashes of fuzz, teeth, and power, Natural Facts is a natural progression for Garcia Peoples.
With Danny Arakaki and Tom Malach on dueling guitars, Derek Spaldo on bass, and Cesar Arakaki on drums, the quartet is joined on roughly half the tracks by keyboardist Pat Gubler (PG6, Wet Tuna, Tower Recordings), who – since contributing to Natural Facts – has become a frequent auxiliary Garcia.
Discovering the secret and perhaps even endangered language of riffs, Danny and Tom formed Garcia Peoples in Rutherford, New Jersey in 2011 or 2012, depending when you ask). And over the past year and change, Garcia Peoples have hit launching speed, writing albums’ worth of material too fast to release. While Natural Facts is the perfect introduction to the band’s light-footed cosmic Americana, it’s only one piece of an emerging picture that perhaps Garcia Peoples don’t even quite see yet. The tapers have started showing up for Garcia Peoples, too, keeping track of the evolving song suites. Despite only having one official full-length under their belt, the band barely repeated a song over their four shows during their weekly residency at Brooklyn’s Wonders of Nature. Depending on when you’re reading this, the next Garcia Peoples show will almost certainly contain pieces of album #3 and quite probably #4, too.
It’s been a small, happy wonder to watch Garcia Peoples transmit themselves to the outside world. From up close, they’re almost too omnipresent to keep track of, playing frequently, and out watching shows around Brooklyn on nearly any other given night. Honing their chops first at their respective parents’ places, playing until they had to unplug for the night, Arakaki and Malach would inevitably retire to the 7-11 parking lot. There, they pieced together the emerging jams, fragments, verses, and other stray ideas they had yet to write, until – at least in the Garciaverse – they coalesced into distinct albums. Then they just had to record them. As of this writing, they’re only one album behind. Like a road map with constantly changing coordinates, the Garcias’ master plan is only barely that, but they plunge into the next territory with an infectious enthusiasm.
Tracked in Philadelphia with Jeff Zeigler (Kurt Vile, War on Drugs, Mary Lattimore), Natural Facts isn’t a throwback, as much as Garcia Peoples sometimes accidentally sound like a band one might stumble into at New York’s late Wetlands Preserve in the mid-‘90s. Rather, it’s a newly emerging conversation, songs and structures and solos and duos drawing from the latest and most right-on musicians to cross Garcia Peeps’ collective transom.
The classic rock guitarists of yore might be obvious subsequent touchstones, but bend your ear and newer colors emerge, generated from hours and years of talk and music. Listen close. Nothing inorganic here, just pure Natural Facts.
– Jesse Jarnow
Today Glide is excited to premiere the awesomely titled track “High Noon Violence”. Beginning with a cascade of proggy guitar riffs, the band wastes no time in getting to the good stuff as they prove to have a skill at jamming right out of the gate. In certain flourishes of the lyrics and music, the song is reminiscent of the psychedelic 60s grooves of the Grateful Dead. But there is more happening here than just jam band ramblings, as the band demonstrates a love of complex guitar build-ups and the intricate art punk of acts like Television. It’s impressive to hear such a sprawling kaleidoscope of sounds unfolding over the course of five minutes, and one can’t help but be tantalized by the idea of watching Garcia Peoples play in a live setting.
Guitarist Tom Malach shares some insight on “High Noon Violence”:
“This song has gone through many different versions. It’s started as a solo acoustic number and then moved into a 3 minute rock song, now we continue to add parts to the live version to make it a blown out jammer.”
LISTEN:
Natural Facts is out March 29th on Beyond Beyond is Beyond. PRE-ORDER
Tour Dates:
02.26.19 – Boston, MA @ ONCE Ballroom#
02.27.19 – Port Chester, NY @ Garcia’s#
02.28.19 – Washington, DC @ Gypsy Sally’s#
03.01.19 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Bowl#
03.02.19 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Bowl#
03.03.19 – Philadelphia, PA @ Ardmore#
03.13-16.19 – SXSW Austin, TX (Relix Day Party/ More TBD)
03.29.19 – NYC, NY @ Nublu (Album Release Show w/ Ryley Walker)
04.13.19 – Milwaukee Psych Fest
06.7-8.19 – Sonoma Valley, CA @Huichica Music Fest
#w/ Grateful Shred
Photo credit: Mariano Frisoli de Oliveira
