The Garden @ Electric Circus, 24 Aug

Somewhere beneath the paper-white face paint, red lipstick and dress shirts are Californian twins Wyatt and Fletcher Shears. The Garden remain mysterious, but the punk jesters they portray on stage are a force to be reckoned with. 

The Orange County duo aggressively resists genre boundaries and this defiance is palpable; blurring the line between music and performance art, their set is intense, creative, and shamelessly unrestrained. Though firmly rooted in punk rock, The Garden traverse electronica and '90s flavoured hip-hop seemingly effortlessly. Opening with propulsive cut Crystal Clear from their 2015 album Haha, the duo command attention from the first drum stroke. Bass in hand, Wyatt explores every inch of Electric Circus’ humble stage, pausing only to partake in a loose definition of interpretive dance. He struts across the stage holding a water bottle between his teeth, brandishing his empty hands as though to ensure the audience is suitably impressed. Fletcher soon joins him, jumping over his kit and somersaulting across the floor.

The brothers have a magnetic presence, but it’s their raw talent that carries the evening. Beneath the charisma and theatrics, Wyatt is a quietly gifted vocalist – articulate, yet forceful – and aware of when to pull back and let his brother take the lead. Good thing he does, because Fletcher’s masterful drum work is the backbone of the set. Juggling his drumsticks between strokes, he is every bit as entertaining as his twin, imbuing each song of the night with a rugged pulse. 

The modest stage and a semi-anaesthetised crowd feel almost undeserving of The Garden's undeniable pull, the duo remaining strangely personable in their aggression. Shaking hands with half the audience as the night winds down, before being greeted on stage by the most diehard of fans, a deadpan Wyatt turns to the crowd. “At this point," he affirms, “we are reaching the light at the end of the tunnel.” The Garden embrace the darkness, but there's nothing sombre about their set.