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www.dosomethingpretty.com - (London 100 Club 12/2/04) ....Opening the
night was Garlic. Hailing from London, this rock-a-billy on
stage six-piece talent played with their usual gusto. On
stage, Garlic one minute exudes a dreamlike reminiscence of a
lover’s warmth that lingers days after they’ve gone, the next
thrash the living pigshit out of country’s bad reputation of
whinging has been cowboys waxing dopily over lost boots and
cattle rustling. Country sensibilities propel twangy soulful
harping as Mike Wyzgowski spins lyrical, and guitar-laden
soundscapes jam with swirling keyboards that can only
emphasise articulate humour in songs like Courgette, and
Kathleen and Marie.....- Emma Haigh
www.drownedinsound.com - (Brighton 28/11/02) It seems like I
haven't been to a gig in ages (well since Saturday!) so I
decided it was time to tear myself away from the TV and head
out into the unknown, well at least as far as the Freebutt
down the road.
The first band
tonight is Brighton's County of Analogue. They start quite
well, a mix of country-esque guitars and bleeping keyboards.
They maybe suffer slightly during some songs due to somewhat
inaudible vocals, however I'm still captured by the overall
melodic sound of the band. The one problem that I do have is
that they remind me of one-time indie kings Salako. As the gig
progress this gets a little too much for me and I do end up
wishing that I was actually seeing Salako. County of Analogue
do have potential if they can maybe inject a bit more stage
presence and capitalise on their quirkiness and penchant for
great melodies. I only wish I could have heard more of their
lyrics!
Garlic,
tonight's headline band, however do not seem to have much
potential in them. They are essentially a really good band but
only if you have been living in a cave for the last 10 years
and have never heard Pavement. Despite being for Scotland
their singer manages to rip-off Malkamus' vocal style exactly,
even down to crap rhyming at the end of each line like 'money
and funny', 'other and mother' and even 'me and tree'. Yeah
that's what make Pavement special but for fuck's sake it been
done before, and better. The Freebutt is a small venue and I
can't help thinking that if this were Pavement then we'd be
getting a really exciting show. As it is the band ain't well
endowed in the charisma department. After about 6 songs I'm
bored, really bored, so I head to the bar. If I want to hear a
band that sounds exactly like Pavement I'd rather go home and
listen to Terror Twilight. - Ollie Russian
moles.co.uk
(Bath 21/11/02)
- .... Garlic — and who picked
that name, may I ask? — was a different proposition entirely.
Based on standard song structures, they combined several
styles of music into one grainy, chugging whole in support of
the songs and singing of Mike Wyzgowski. Garlic has been
compared to Grandaddy and Pavement, but the most apt
comparison, at least in regard to Wyzgowski, is Lou Reed.
Though Garlic songs are poppier and don’t rise out of that
seedy NYC scene, the similarity in sound and in songwriting –
let’s not forget what a melodic writer Lou was – is evident.
The other unique identifying feature of Garlic sound
is the lap steel guitar of Marcus McCarroll. Just because it’s
a steel guitar does not make this an Americana band, by the
way; it is a rock band. The lap steel is used to wonderful
effect, including as a harmony voice to Wyzgowski. Garlic
might be better reinvented as an Americana band, though. There
is something about the band that makes it seem less than the
sum of its six parts.
Perhaps they try a little too
hard to chug out the rock, perhaps there is too much sound
overwhelming Wyzgowski’s fragile voice when it ought to be the
imperfect jewel in its setting. Or perhaps it was just one of
those full moon, oddly off nights, because, though the quality
is clearly there, it never seemed to take flight.
Charley Dunlap Bath Chronicle music columnist
NME live review - The
Amazing Pilots/Garlic - London E1 Arts Cafe (19/1/02) -
The term 'Peel favourites' can describe anyone from
bluegrass banjo pluckers to synapse-shredding drill'n'bass
merchants. But more often than not it's used to identify bands
like Garlic - doughty Scots rockers who sound like Pavement
with a pedal steel. Strangely, they cover rave anthem 'Not
Over Yet'. Even more strangely, it was written by one of them
years ago. But when 'off-kilter' riffing is so familiar, so
nice, doesn't that make it
on-kilter? Northern Ireland's Amazing Pilots opt for the
trickier option of using classic rock influences to fashion
something singular and distinctive. They dress like a wedding
band gone to seed and risk sounding like one
too...........Together they lurch through a set that fuses The
Replacements' wheezy swagger with Teenage Fanclub at their
most miserable (everything Raymond McGinley writes,
basically). Not exactly a night of a thousand stars, then, but
The Amazing Pilots steer a steady path through all the
turbulence. - Martin Horsfield
www.leedsmusicscene.co.uk - Leeds 12/1/01 Live Review
:
The band were no disappointed after all of the hype before the
gig. Perhaps sixty or so packed into the upstairs venue and to
put it bluntly, went wild with enthusiasm. Each and every song
was received with enormous applause, including the final track
that I was singing in my head. It was only at the end that I'd
realised I knew it from its dance-version equivalent (tell a
lie, I was told). "Favourably compared to Grandaddy or
Pavement" sums up their sound very, very well. Imagine "Cut
Your Hair" era Pavement, this is all of the clean, jangles and
twisted guitar sounds.
www.leedsmusicscene.co.uk - Leeds 23/3/01 Live Review :
GARLIC
can be summed up quite easily... Pavement. .....and would
pay to see this band play anywhere; in my opinion they are
good songwriters and have some more-than-decent and catchy
tunes. Their recent sampler for their forthcoming album is a
perfect example of the Garlic repertoire. In addition to the
four songs on the CD - all single release quality songs - they
also have one or two others that could quite easily have been
on there. Admittedly, their set includes one or two fillers,
which failed to excite me in any way - but that, I think, is
to be expected.
The Crack (NE
listings mag) - Not a single, not an album, but a
4-track sampler and we thought
it so pretty damn ace, we'd give it a mention.....This is
guitar music, but the kind which gives the genre a good name -
a la some of the better US acts kicking around at the minute.
'allinthenameoffun' kicks things off nicely with a swinging
little ditty whilst 'pig' is a meandering tale recalling
chilled out Neil Young or a balladeering Lou Reed and is quite
charming; 'courgette' has a nice alt. country vibe and comes
on like an at ease Pavement. Closer 'notoveryet' again has the
off-the-beaten-track appeal of Mercury Rev or The Flaming Lips
and marks the band as ones to watch. - April 2001
R*E*P*E*A*T
(Cambridge fanzine) - Garlic 4 track album sampler .....Garlic are fab in a very Pavementy way,
with a bit of Pixies thrown in for good measure. Their live
performances are a joy to behold, and I love them to bits.
However, how the hell do you review an album you haven't
heard? I'm guessing it'll be wonderful, and the songs here are
twangy pop gems with all the trimmings..... Chris Marling -
May 2001
ROBOTS &
ELECTRONIC BRAINS - Garlic, LP sampler
(Propylactic) CDS - Is it too easy to just say Lou
Reed and be done with it? Yes, and wrong as well. Garlic are
informed by post-Velvets guitar bands but can't get past the
off-perfect perfection that Reed brought to his songs. Not
quite homage, but its obvious that Garlic know their
onions. - May 2001
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What's
On in London - Not Over Yet single - Mike Wyzgowski sounds
like Mercury Rev here, with a pinch of Grandaddy style
instrumentation. This was actually written by Mike with Rob
(‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head’) Davis for Paul Oakenfold’s
labels. It doesn’t sound like a house track anymore though.
Watch out for Garlic - they could be big. - June 2002
www.playlouder.com Not Over Yet single
- Easing our way gently off the dancefloor - well, your
knees wouldn't be what they were if you partied this hard
either (and, knowing you lot, you probably do) - takes us
to longtime Peel faves Garlic doing 'Not Over Yet' on
Propylactic Records. Those of you who invested in a fluffy bra
circa 1995 may find yourselves going "but wait! Isn't that a
cover of the old Grace classic?", to which we can reply in the
affirmative, but! this ain't no ordinary cover. Not only has
it been turned into a yearning pedal-steel lament the like of
which would've done 'Wowee Zowee'-era Pavement proud, but it's
been done by the band whose leader actually wrote the damn
thing. Mike Wyzgowski, take a bow. Nowhere near as novelty as
it might sound, and beautiful enough - as are their gigs,
punters-to-be - to suggest that these huge-hearted Caledonians
could easily become a fixture of summer loveliness. *Sighs
wistfully...* - May 2002 - Iain Moffat
NME -
"Not Over Yet" single review - Mike Wyzgowski has struck a
cunning formula. First, write a rave anthem for Oakenfold
protegee Grace and watch the money roll in. Then, a few years
later, cover your own song as leader of indie protozoa Garlic
and glow with pride as NME compares it favourably with
Pavement. The prospect of Ian Van Dahl covering 'Morning Has
Broken' by The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster suggests,
however, that the trick might not be quite so successful in
reverse. But what an idea... - May 2002- John Mulvey
Q
Magazine - "Not Over Yet" single review - Proving that dance
music has feelings too, British band garlic remake Planet
Perfecto's house floorfiller Not Over Yet (Prophylactic ****)
as teary-eyed country. With singer Mike Wyzgowksi's Neil Young
nasal twang, turns out it was a tortured tale of longing all
along. - May 2002 - Dan Gennoe
The
Independent - Single of the Week - Garlic 'Not Over Yet'
(Propylactic Records) - Co-written by Mike Wyzgowski,
the band's singer, this song was originally a top-10 hit for
Paul Oakenfold's trancey Perfecto label. It's now been given a
fond, dusty and pedal-steel enriched treatment, creating a
sound not dissimilar to Grandaddy or Pavement at their most
endearing. **** May 2002 - Tim Perry
www.thecritic.info - Not Over Yet single
- Drawing favourable comparisons with the likes of Grandaddy
and Pavement and praise from the likes of John Peel, Garlic
have spent the last two and a half years touring and refining
their musical skills.
This their second single, is a
re-make of the old house classic, penned by Garlic singer Mike
Wyzgowski (with Rob Davis), Mike now adds his own voice and
steel guitars to the fray praying for a repeat success. With
the experience of John Peel sessions and a support slot to an
impressed New Order, this may be one version of Garlic that
leaves a pleasant taste in the mouth. 4/? May 2002 - Les
Linyard
www.drownedinsound.com Not Over Yet single --
For their sins, of which we can assume there are many, Garlic
met via an advertisement in renowned grab-bag paper Loot. What
sort of people read this tomb of boot-fair culture? Well,
people who know their way round a guitar for starters. A-side
‘Not Over Yet’ is a sublime mix of
Malkmus-esque (not Pavement, natch) guitars
and Mercury Rev swampy-soar chorus. Cleverly, it
manages to sound big with ever being blustery. No
Geneva in Garlic, thankfully.
Pleasantly, it fails to adhere to its name and, as it reaches
its well-timed end, poses the questions 'oh, finished already
then?' as songs always should. Remixed B-side: not so good.
4/5 May 2002 - Gareth Dobson
www.miuzik.com Not Over Yet -
Single -
There are so many bands out there that are let down by poor
quality singers. Garlic’s second single, "Not Over Yet" is an
excellent example of this. The song starts off quite
promisingly, with a nice slide guitar section, and then it all
goes wrong. Mike Wyzgowski, apart from having the weirdest
last name I’ve ever seen, is a weak, annoying and all round
whingey singer.
Ignoring the wailing cat, the instrumental
parts of this track are very interesting. There is the slide
guitar playing at the start which leads into a more wah-wah
pedal type backing. This obviously hasn’t gone un-noticed as
"Not Over Yet" was a house classic a few years back.
I’d
only recommend this single to those of you with the little
karyoke button on your stereo to cut out the awful
vocals.2/5. Released 27th May
2002 on Propylactic Records. - Craig Mather
www.leedsmusicscene.co.uk Garlic - Not Over
Yet (Prophylactic Records) Strange one this. You'll probably
remember this song from a couple of years back when it was an
enormous house classic around the world for an artist going by
the name of Grace. This time the song returns in an
unashamedly indie guise, in fact, sounding just like Mercury
Rev. Except it isn't ver Rev, it is in fact one of the guys
who wrote it along with five chums. They go by the name of
Garlic and yes, you may have heard of the name before. And I
don't just mean as a white bulby thing that Jamie 'Orrible and
his ilk (and lots of other folks besides chefs) put in food to
make it taste nice and make your breath smell like poo. No,
this is Garlic's second single after 'Slave to the Summer Son'
which got played a bit, a Peel session and supporting the
mighty New Order. What seems strange to me is that this is
that whole farrago (can you tell I'm bitter already?) is the
reverse of summat that has bugged me for a while. Do you
remember that crap band (with that boring bint who
subsequently couldn't get a record deal) whose name escapes me
did the cover of 'Here's Where's The Story Ends' (originally
written by The Sundays - you knew that, right)? Well this is
that in reverse. Then it was : Indie Choon grazes the lower
reaches of the charts when released by Indie Band wot wrote
it. Indie Choon turned into tossy pop becomes big hit when
released by made-up band. This time we have tossy pop sounding
song (well no, it wasn't that bad really) becomes big hit when
released by made-up band now to be released by Indie Band
featuring geezer wot wrote it in the first place. I'm sure
there's some sort of ying and yang, birth and re-birth lesson
to be learnt somewhere or maybe it's just the fickle pop will
eat itself nature of, well, pop. Hmmm. Anyway to cut to the
chase, this sounds good - if a little like Grandaddy and
Mercury Rev. It's just that you can't get the original version
out of your hieeeed afterwards... 7/10. 2001
leedsmusicscene. Written by Andy Roberts.
Original Sin (Belgian e-zine/fanzine)
- GARLIC Slave to the summer,
son (7’inch) ….but here is the new single from them and look
it is alternative pop with an extremely refreshing sound, the
sort of stuff Stephen Malkmus could have written during his
Pavement days when he was writing the "Slave And
Enchanted"-album…the sort of pop that makes you dance and
think at the same time!!
L'Entrepot
(Belgian mag/fanzine)
GARLIC: Slaves to the summer, son 7” 2000 Propylactic
Records -
An English band that is me recommended by Marcus Devereux.
This single from previous summer is a processor for the this
year to appear album on their own Propylactic label.
John
Peel also remarks the single and gives him some airplay, and
not undeserved must I admit. Garlic plays intense pop - rock.
A passable "full" sound. Keyboards (especially in the title
song) complete the sometimes heavy guitar parts. The
spontaneously of the single remind me on the first Pavement
LP. We are curious what the CD gonna brings
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