Operating largely in the late 1980s/ early 1990s, Bristol ‘absurdist’ rockers Herb Garden may not have experienced global recognition across the decades, but now over 35 years since forming they may be looking at an assault on the Charts for the first time in their career.
This newfound interest comes via the YouTube based podcast ‘Undiscovered & Recovered, where hosts Ryan Hamilton and Steve Rosier listen to ‘lost’ demo tapes from the 1990s and give their unique opinions. This week’s episode features two demo tracks from Herb Garden, being described as “like Johnny Rotten fronting Motorhead”. Deliberately listening to the music with no prior research, Hamilton & Rosier rely on their audience to help identify the band in question each week. Such has become the response from their ardent supporters, upon airing Herb Garden’s music it took mere minutes for reports to come back that the band are very much still active. Featuring all five original members – Carl (Vocalisms), Ben (Drums), Rat and Phil (guitars) and Dave (Bass), their most recent release – the EP ‘Space Age Expectations’ – was recorded at The Garden Shed, Bristol and came out in November 2023. Not only that, but the two tracks featured on the podcast, ‘Sh!t on Me’ and ‘Goodies’ are available on all digital channels.
“You can see in the episode – when this unexpected tsunami of noise erupts over our headphones… we have no idea how to react. We were definitely not prepared for the chaotic toiletry of Herb Garden”, chuckles Hamilton.
“It’s obvious we’re pretty baffled during recording, but we’ve come to really love this band! It just took us a minute as Herb Garden is SO unlike anything we’ve encountered on the podcast to date. So, it struck us that it would be the greatest thing ever if we could rally our audience to get a thirty-plus-year-old track called ‘Sh!t On Me’ charting in 2024”, Rosier says.
“This podcast is a joy,” adds Hamilton. “To be able to share this music and then go find out what happened to these bands, what they released – if anything – what’s been their story. And now – decades later, if we can help shine a light on talent that maybe didn’t get their chance – well, that’s a blast!”
Texan Hamilton is a former recording artist with multiple charting albums to his name, now hosting a Friday night show on Jorvik Radio. UK based Rosier Managed Hamilton during the latter half of his recording career and continues to Manage and develop artists. However, whilst the pair come at reviewing these demo tapes with a certain ‘industry’ perspective, it is largely driven by their boundless passion for music.
Rosier concludes: “In the fun spirit of our podcast, please help us prove the positive power of the internet and show Herb Garden some serious love. We’d love for this band to find a brand new audience, get them added to the bill for Download Festival – and for ‘Sh!t On Me’ to get to Number One!”
To get Herb Garden charting – their track ‘Sh!t On Me’ can be found here (and on streaming platforms): https://music.apple.com/gb/album/a-n-d-agent-of-natural-destruction/1632081231
And their podcast episode of ‘Undiscovered & Recovered’ here: https://youtu.be/23c9ggaZt7Q
For everything else ‘Garden’ – go here: linktr.ee/herbgarden
