Berwanger
Watching a Garden Die
(SPT11 – Cassette)
100 copies pressed on blue tint shell, includes download code.
SIDE A:
1. A Long Way Down
2. Even Darkness Doesn’t Know
3. Bad Vibrations (LISTEN)
4. Paper Blues
5. The Business of Living
SIDE B:
1. Friday Night
2. New Guitar
3. When I Was Young
4. Turn Off Your Mind
5. I Keep Telling Myself
6. Remain Untamed
Kansas City’s Berwanger (Josh Berwanger of The Anniversary, Radar State, The Only Children) new full-length Watching a Garden Die is out now.
“On this new record, I often use the word “you”, but I’m actually referring to “me”, says Josh. In other words, I’m talking to myself. This song is about my social anxieties because I usually feel awkward in public, which makes me think I sometimes give off bad vibrations when most likely I’m just spaced out, off on another planet. Or maybe a better example is how Garth feels when Wayne ditches him on set in Wayne’s World.”
Josh Berwanger was one of the main singers and songwriters in The Anniversary. The band formed in 1999 and released two albums on Vagrant Records. They toured with a variety of bands including Modest Mouse, Mars Volta, Guided By Voices, and Cheap Trick. Due to a number of unfortunate circumstances, The Anniversary broke up prematurely in 2003.
In 2017, The Anniversary embarked on a successful reunion tour. Berwanger explains: “It never felt right, the way we broke up. One day we were on tour, the next day none of us were talking to each other. So it felt good to put some closure to something we worked so hard at.” After the reunion tour, Berwanger started another band that some called a “super-group”, forming Radar State with Matt Pryor and Jim Suptic of The Get Up Kids. The band released the album Strays and toured the U.S. So when did Berwanger find time to record his fourth full-length studio album, Watching a Garden Die? “I’m constantly writing. I try to write a song or part of a song every day. It’s not always good, but it’s not about it being good or bad. It’s about pushing yourself to create each day.” WAGD has a different tone than his previous albums. While songs like “Bad Vibrations” and “Friday Night” make you want to hit the dance floor, the rest of the album has a more heartfelt and moodier tone. “It’s definitely one of the most, if not the most, personal albums I have written. There were a few times I didn’t even want to release it. But if some of the subject matter can reach another person and help them deal with something they’re going through, that’s what music and art is for.”
Released: June 28th, 2019
SEE ALSO:
SPT2 Berwanger – Strange Stains (Cassette)
SPT10 Radar State – Strays (Cassette)
SPT15 The Anniversary – Designing a Nervous Breakdown (Cassette)
SPT24 Berwanger – And the Star Invaders (Cassette)